Rafael Nadal emerges victorious in thriller match against Denis Shapovalov in Rome

The best match of the Rome Masters so far featured many great plays in the 3 and a half hour battle with a very dramatic finish.

Denis Shapovalov played a sensational match today but still, it was not enough to take down the king of clay Rafael Nadal as the Spaniard won 3-6 6-4 7-6(3). Shapovalov was sensational at the start of the match winning 17 of the first 22 points they played. He was up 4-0 but Nadal was able to pull one break back. The Canadian remained calm and wrapped up the first set 6-3.

Shapovalov reached the semifinal last year so something about Rome makes him perform a lot better. He is also a tough matchup for Nadal which was shown today as well. Nadal found himself down 3-0 in the 2nd set as well and it seemed like he would leave the court defeated.

But Nadal, the fighter that he is, made an incredible run to win the next five games and take the 5-3 lead. It was a fascinating development that saw Nadal rise like a phoenix to completely take over the match. He won the 2nd set with 6-4 and it looked like a comeback win was on the table.

But the Canadian once again proved a tough matchup for Nadal. Shapovalvo once again took the early break taking a 3-1 lead but Nadal was able to pull it back to 3-3. At 5-5, Nadal had a break point but Denis saved it and the Canadian even had an MP in the next game. He failed to use it and Nadal forced a tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, it was prime Nadal who completely took over dominating rallies and winning point after point. In the end, he won it 7-3 to finish the match that lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes.