(Reuters) – Rafa Nadal suffered a loss in the last eight round by Russian Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday as he was defeated 6-2 4-6 6-2, only his sixth ever loss in the tournament ‘to win it 11 times.
The Spaniard was in danger of defeat when Rublev led by a break in the second set, having dominated the opener, but showed his trademark grit to fight back.
Rublev was relentless, though, and bludgeoned his way into a 5-1 lead in the second set after breaking Nadal’s serve three times. Nadal continued to serve but the 23-year-old finished number eight with the winner of a squeeze manual.
It was Rublev’s first win against Nadal and the first time had managed to win a set.
The semi-final has an unfamiliar look with Rublev against Casper Ruud of Norway who beat 2019 champion Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3. In the other half Dan Evans, who beat Novak Djokovic at world number one on Thursday and followed by beating David Goffin, plays fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nadal, 34, was playing his first tournament since losing to Tsitsipas in the last eight in Australia, but had shown no sign of rust in dropping just five games in his opening two matches.
But Rublev proved a very different proposition with his ultra-aggressive style preventing Nadal from being able to set the pattern the way he usually does on one of his favorite platforms.
Nadal had no answer for Rublev in the first set and looked close to defeating when Rublev scored points for a double break in the second set. He dug his heels in though and clawed his way back to grab the set in 74 minutes.
Normal service had not been resumed though as Rublev broke down at the start of the decision and although Nadal cut back immediately, the Russian-based force eventually wore the 20-time Grand Slam champion down .