Reuters
Barcelona, April 24: Rafa Nadal’s bid to get back to top form before the French Open suffered a huge setback when he crashed to a 4-6, 6-7 (6-8) defeat to 13th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in the third round of the Barcelona Open here Thursday night.
Nadal produced an erratic performance on clay in the Catalan capital and the big-hitting Fognini punished the Spaniard’s errors to scupper his bid for a ninth Barcelona title in 10 years.
Backed by a fiercely partisan crowd, Nadal saved three match points in the tie-break before sending a forehand long on the fourth to hand Fognini victory.
Nadal admitted that Thursday’s reverse was ‘a blow’ and that his misfiring forehand had been the key to his loss. “I played badly and I couldn’t play how I wanted,” Nadal told a news conference. “There is no other alternative, accept it or die, and I accept it because I want to give myself a chance in the future,” added the 28-year-old.
On the other side of the draw, champion and top seed Kei Nishikori of Japan eased past Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-1.
