"Rafa is gonna try to pin him in that backhand corner with that forehand up the line" - Andy Roddick on Rafael Nadal's game plan against Denis Shapovalov in Rome 3R
Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick believes Rafael Nadal could face a tough time against Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the Rome Masters on Thursday.
The 35-year-old Spaniard opened his campaign for an 11th title at the Foro Italico with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 win over John Isner on Wednesday. The American put up a fight early on. However, after he squandered two break points in the seventh game of the first set, Isner's resistance fizzled out as Nadal improved to 69-7 in the Italian capital.
Good start for Nadal in Rome, 6-3, 6-1 over John Isner.
If you start counting now, whoever wins more matches between Nadal and Tsitsipas going forward in Rome will be the #4 seed at Roland Garros; a tie goes to Tsitsipas.
Up next for Nadal will be Denis Shapovalov. Discussing the Spaniard's game plan, Andy Roddick said on 'Tennis Channel Live' that Nadal's trademark topspin forehand to a right-hander's backhand might not be as potent against Shapovalov, who is left-handed.
"What are the things that Shapovalov has (against Nadal) is lefty on lefty, so the high crosscourt forehand ball that Rafa likes to play to righties, where you're trying to get it up and away in no-man's land, doesn't quite work as well against Shapo."
Shapovalov, a big hitter of the ball, will have to relentlessly attack Nadal's second serves to stand a chance of winning the contest, according to Roddick.
"He can get some big forehands off that (Nadal's crosscourt forehand). He's gonna have to attack second serves and take those big swings like he does. Rafa is going to try, I guess, he tries to make a high percentage of first serves in. Shapo, may be not as good on the first-serve return as he's on the second-serve return."
The American said that Nadal could look to target the one-handed Shapovalov backhand, the Canadian's weaker flank.
"Rafa is gonna try to pin him in that backhand corner with that forehand up the line. Rafa actually flanks out that backhand crosscourt really well, so he'll be peppering the Shapo backhand."
How has Rafael Nadal fared against Denis Shapovalov over the years?
Rafael Nadal has a formidable record against right-handers, winning 937 of 1133 matches across surfaces (82.7% success rate). He fares even better against fellow left-handers, winning nearly 90% of such matches (113/128).
Only one of Nadal's 15 losses against left-handers came against Shapovalov. That was in the pair's first meeting in the third round of the 2017 Coupe Rogers, where the Canadian won in a third-set tie-break.
Since then, the Spaniard has won all four clashes against Shapovalov, most recently prevailing in five sets in the 2022 Australian Open quarterfinals. They have met twice on clay in Rome (2018 and 2021). In their previous meeting on the red dirt in the third round in Rome last year, Nadal saved two match points before prevailing in a third-set tie-break.
Rafael Nadal saved two match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov in a three-set battle and advance to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.