Denis Shapovalov becomes 10th player to beat Rafael Nadal on clay after losing first set

Denis Shapovalov was a happy man after recovering from a set down to beat Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Rome Masters on Thursday. In the process, he joined an illustrious group of players to have accomplished the feat against the 'King of Clay' on the red dirt.

In the pair's sixth meeting, third in Rome, Shapovalov was slow off the blocks, winning just one game in the opening net. However, he was a different player at the start of the second, surviving an 11-minute opening game before going 3-0 up. Nadal got back on serve but relinquished it again in the 12th game as Shapovalov took the match the distance.

With his movement appearing to be hindered by injury, Nadal failed to put up much resistance in the third. The 10-time champion lost serve twice as Shapovalov brought up his first win in five years against the Spaniard, and first on clay.

Shapovalov became the fourth active player and 10th overall to beat Nadal on clay after losing the opening set.

The three other active players to have accomplished the feat are Novak Djokovic (twice), most recently in the 2021 Roland Garros semifinals, Fabio Fognini (2015 Rio de Janeiro) and Pablo Cuevas (2016 Rio de Janeiro).

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"It's super satisfying after beating the greatest player on clay of all time" - Denis Shapovalov after beating Rafael Nadal

Denis Shapovalov beat Rafael Nadal at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2022 - Day Five

Denis Shapovalov reminisced about his maiden win over Rafael Nadal in the pair's first meeting in the 2017 Coupe Rogers third round. The then 18-year-old recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the deciding set tie-break to notch up the biggest win of his fledgling career.

Since that defeat, Nadal was unbeaten for five years at Masters 1000 tournaments before the quarterfinals until Shapovalov snapped that run on Thursday.

Following his latest triumph against the Spaniard, Shapovalov explained the difficulty of beating Nadal.

"I think both (wins) are very satisfying. He's very difficult to beat. I think the first win will always be very special," he said. "It was kind of my opening scene onto the tour. Yeah, it was just super special the way it happened in a third set tiebreak being down 3-0 and coming back."

As for his Nadal win in Rome this year, the Canadian added that he was relieved to get over the line after squandering match points in the third round last year.

"Of course, today is definitely a great, great win for sure as well. Having match points last year against him, not being able to convert. Coming back this year and turning the match around, it's super satisfying to beat the greatest player on clay of all time," he said.

Shapovalov will take on Casper Ruud on Friday for a place in the Rome semifinals.