By Canadian Press

Shapovalov bounces clay-court star Nadal, moves on to Italian Open quarterfinals

May 12, 2022 | 2:57 PM

ROME — Canada’s Dennis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open tennis tournament Thursday with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 upset of clay-court legend Rafael Nadal.

Shapovalov was up 4-1 in the second set before Nadal rallied back to tie. But the 13th-seeded Canadian didn’t fold and forced a third set.

The Richmond Hill, Ont. player clinched the match with a break in the eighth game of the third set.

Nadal, the third seed in Rome, entered the tournament with a 466-44 career record on clay.

Shapovalov is now 2-4 lifetime against Nadal. He will face fifth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway in Friday’s quarterfinals.

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Earlier Thursday, Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Andreescu beat Serbia’s Petra Martić 6-4, 6-4 in the women’s tournament. The product of Mississauga, Ont., faces top-seeded Iga Swiatek in the next round.

Swiatek is the defending champion in Rome and is attempting to win her fifth consecutive tournament.

Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime bounced American Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 in the men’s third round.

He will face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

Djokovic beat Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2022.

The Canadian Press