Nadal leaves the Masters in Rome after the second stage. The ninth racket was beyond his strength

In the capital city of Italy, Rome, the ATP Masters series tournament, also known as ATP 1000, is ongoing.

Today, in the context of the tournament's second stage, the former world number one, winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments, the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who currently occupies the 305th position in the ATP rankings, encountered the ninth-ranked player from Poland, Hubert Hurkacz.

After a rather lengthy hiatus, it was challenging for the Spaniard to return to the court, and in the first-round match, he secured a tenacious victory against the 108th-ranked player in the world.

In today's match, the Pole commenced with confidence. In the first set, he served six aces, yet this did not prevent him from winning all his serves, and subsequently, he claimed the second and third serves of Nadal. As a result, Hurkacz confidently secured a victory of 6:1.

The second set also proved to be unfavorable for the Spaniard. While he won his first serve, he lost the second. Despite this, the Pole felt sufficiently assured, albeit continuing to serve aces. Nonetheless, he managed to capture the second set from his opponent with a score of 6:3, advancing to the third stage of the Masters.

ATP 1000
Rome, Italy
2nd Round
Hubert Hurkacz - Rafael Nadal 6:1, 6:3

In the subsequent match, Hubert Hurkacz will encounter the 28th-ranked player in the world from Argentina, Thomas Martin Etcheverry.