Rafael Nadal exits Rome against Hubert Hurkacz, likely final Roland Garros looms

ROME, Italy—Rafael Nadal’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia campaign, likely the last of his career, ended abruptly on Saturday with a second-round loss to Hubert Hurkacz, 6-1, 6-3.

The 10-time champion, who has heavily suggested he will retire at the end of 2024, was coming off his 700th victory at the Foro Italico, but was overwhelmed in his attempt to score a first Top 10 victory since 2022, bowing out the No. 7 seed in 92 minutes on Campo Centrale.

"Playing Rafa is something special," Hurkacz said on court after the match. "It's just different, especially being on clay, the surface he dominated over the past 20 years! No one will ever have a record like him on this surface. He's bigger than the sport. At the end of the day, he brings so many fans, so many people follow him, and he's inspired so many guys. I'm really happy to have this experience today."

Nadal revealed after his first-round victory over Zizou Bergs that, in the interest of shielding his body against further injuries, had been playing more conservatively at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Mutua Madrid Open, where he lost in the second and fourth round, respectively.

With a final Roland Garros looming in the next two weeks, Nadal, who has won the event an astounding 14 times, confirmed a plan to employ more intensity going forward after playing three sets with Bergs, a qualifier from Belgium.

“If something happens, something happens,” said Nadal, who re-injured his hip at the Brisbane International to start the season, forcing him to miss the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open.

That plan certainly seemed to be in action through a riveting start to his encounter with Hurkacz, who he was facing for the first time in his career. The first two games alone took 26 minutes to complete as Nadal and Hurkacz battled through their opening service games.

"Those were probably the longest three games I'll ever play in my life," Hurkacz said. "I think I found my serve, and that definitely helped my confidence build. After those long games, I got into a pretty good rhythm and felt like, 'Ok, I can go like this forever.'"

But Hurkacz, who effectively sent Roger Federer into retirement when he defeated the 20-time Grand Slam champion at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, has proven increasingly proficient on clay, winning his first title on the slower surface last month in Estoril. Matching Nadal’s 14 winners, he struck half as many unforced errors (six to ten) to ease through the next five games and put Nadal six games from defeat.

"The score looks the way it is, but I knew I needed to be on top of my game the whole match because if I dropped just a little that he would be right back there," Hurkacz said. "That was the really tough part, and I was trying to manage it as good as I could."

Hurkacz opened the second set with another break lead, and though Nadal kept the score closer, the Pole proved all but impenetrable as he dropped just one point on serve to scure a 5-3 lead.

With Nadal serving to stay in the match, Hurkacz was unrelenting and struck a powerful forehand into the open court to pull up a match point. Hurkacz overpowered the Spaniard one last time from the back of the court to edge over the finish line and book a fourth-round meeting with No. 25 seed Tomás Martín Etcheverry.

"We just had the opportunity to practice, but growing up and looking up to him, seeing him win all those titles, here and at the Roland Garros, it was a special experience. I wanted to play him so much, especially on clay, so just being able to share the court and the atmosophere at the beginning of the match, just how many people have loved and supported him for his whole career, it's tough to explain with words. The whole atmosphere surrounding the beginning of the match was different."