Nadal’s reign in danger - but he‘s saved by rain
SPANIARD’S RATTLED BY UNDERDOG DIEGO
RAFAEL Nadal’s grip on the French Open title was in danger of being loosened by the unlikely figure of Diego Schwartzman.
The man who has lost just twice in 85 matches at Roland Garros was staring down the barrel of a shock defeat when the rain saved him.
At one point Nadal, the reigning champion and 10 times winner, found himself a set and a break down to 5ft 7in Argentinian Schwartzman.
It was the first set Nadal had lost in his last 38 consecutive sets, stretching over three French Open campaigns – meaning Bjorn Borg’s record of 41 straight sets won remained intact.
However, when the players came back on after a delay of almost an hour Nadal immediately broke back to level the second set.
A hold and a break later he was serving to level the match, but at 5-3 and 30-15 the heavens opened again and they were forced off once more, this time for good.
He may have halted the mutiny for now but Nadal was strangely off-colour, unable to dictate the rallies as he usually does on the clay.
Schwartzman, the 11th seed, was certainly playing out of his skin, but even that should have not been enough to trouble a Nadal playing anywhere near his peak.
The Spaniard did have to have his wrist strapped during the first set, during which he had to save four break points in his first service game.
Nadal’s serve, and forehand, had seemingly deserted him as he was broken three times in the first set. He hit straight back on two occasions but Schwartzman held to take it 6-3.
Three consecutive breaks – two for Schwartzman – gave the 25-year-old underdog the advantage in the second set before the first rain break. Nadal had faced 12 break points, losing five of them.
The enforced interlude had clearly benefited Nadal, and assuming he gets the two points he needs to level the match he will start a strong favourite today when they resume.
But he will know he still has plenty of work to do against a tricky opponent and the first to lay a glove on him in Paris this year.
Maria Sharapova’s return to the French Open came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Garbine Muguruza.
The Russian, back on the Paris clay having missed the last two tournaments due to a doping ban, was swept aside 6-2 6-1 by the Spanish third seed.
If Sharapova were to write another autobiography this tame quarterfinal defeat is unlikely to feature too prominently.
It was her book ‘Unstoppable,’ published last year, which had dominated the build-up to her scheduled fourth-round meeting with Serena Williams, until the American pulled out injured.
Williams had branded the book “hearsay” and expressed her surprise at just how much she featured in its pages.
But Sharapova hit back, saying: “I think it would be strange for me not to include someone that I have competed against for so many years
“When you’re writing an autobiography, I don’t think there is any reason to write anything that’s not true.”
It was probably the best return Sharapova managed all day.