Italian Open 2022: Nadal starts bid for 11th title with comfortable win; fans jubilant

Spanish ace Rafael Nadal’s bid for an 11th crown at the Italian Open enjoyed a smooth start after the tennis great blunted John Isner to seal a 6-3, 6-1 second-round win at the ATP Masters 1000 event on Wednesday.

In the first set, the 21-time Grand Slam winner saved two break points to hold before breaking the American for 5-3. Nadal served out to win the set and the 36-time Masters 1000 champion’s return game continued to look in good shape against Isner. In the second set, Nadal broke the World No. 27 three times to complete a comfortable victory.

The Spaniard next faces another North American star in the third round, 13th seed Denis Shapovalov.

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Following this win, Nadal said he aimed to focus on himself and keep getting better. Talking about his next clash with Shapovalov, the Spanish ace said that he needs to play better than today and hopes to go into the game with the right attitude.

A 10-time champion in Rome, Nadal is in his 800th week inside the Top 5, 17 years after first breaking through at that level in 2005. Last week, Nadal faced a quarter-final loss to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at the Madrid Open.

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Nadal fans took to Twitter to express their joy over this win and hoped that the Spanish ace could go on to win the Italian Open 2022, which will be the perfect boost he needs to clinch his 14th French Open crown later this month. Here's a look at some of the reactions: