Nadal on epic comeback win over Shapovalov in Rome - "Important victory for me"

Rafael Nadal came back in sensational fashion against Denis Shapovalov beating the Canadian in an epic 3 and half hours match.

The Spaniard faced two MP's in the 3rd set but rallied to win the match 3-6 6-4 7-6(3). It was a sensational performance from the Spaniard who had a lot of issues against Shapovalov but he was able to pull out an impossible match. The Spaniard did not shy away from saying how important it was for him:

“It is an important victory for me, to be able to win matches like today, 3 hours 27, to be able to win these kinds of matches against young players give me confidence with my body."

Nadal made a name for himself as someone who never truly gives up which he showed in many of his matches. One of those came in Barcelona this week when he rallied several times from behind to defeated a red-hot Tsitsipas in the final.

The Spaniard moved to the quarterfinals where he will face a familiar face in Zverev who defeated him in Madrid last week. Reflecting on his next match Rafa said:

"It’s true that I have to do things better for tomorrow. Have been a positive victory for me. I fought until the end and a lot to be in the quarterfinals".

Nadal will have to recover quickly against Zverev who had a long match of his own with the German admitting to being very tired throughout the match. Match will start at 12:00 CET.