For a brief moment on Thursday, Rafael Nadal looked like a 37-year-old at the end of his tether.
Unable to find rhythm on both ends with his forehand or maintain pace during long rallies, and after committing a surprising number of unforced errors, Nadal conceded the first set of his first-round match against Belgian Zizou Bergs at the Rome Tennis Open.
Then, the holder of 22 career Grand Slam titles, once unbeatable on clay, gradually found his bearings. The Spaniard finally defeated his opponent 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4 on Roman clay, in front of a captivated crowd who had gathered for the occasion in the stands of the “Foro Italico”.
“It has always been very emotional for me here, because this kind of tournament is the most important of my career in tennis,” Nadal said. The crowd has always been great to me, they have always supported me since the start of my career. So I’m very happy to be able to play at least one more match here. »
Nadal played his 10e game this season, after missing most of the 2023 season due to a hip injury that required surgery. He still hopes to be able to compete one last time at the French Open, where he has won 14 of his 22 career Grand Slam titles. The Rome Open, where he has triumphed ten times over the course of his prestigious career, is the last major preparatory tournament before the start of Roland-Garros on May 26.
“It wasn’t my best match. I was better in training than in a match situation today, without a shadow of a doubt. But I found a way to win, Nadal said. This is what is important at the start of a tournament. For me, it’s normal. »
“My game is more unpredictable than before,” he admitted. I haven’t played many matches in the last two years. So my game is erratic, but I think I can play a lot better than what I did today, and I hope that will be the case in the next round. »
Nadal’s mother and sister attended the meeting and were full of encouragement for him. Her one-year-old son was also there; he was at the edge of the court, on Nadal’s father’s lap.
The Nadal family will now be able to watch the second round duel between “Rafa” and the seventh seed, Pole Hubert Hurkacz.
The favorite, Novak Djokovic, is in the other portion of the main draw, while the second seed, Jannik Sinner, and the third player in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, are absent due to injuries.
In the other matches on Thursday morning, Serbian Hamad Medjedovic defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, Thiago Seboth Wild defeated French Grégoire Barrère 6-4, 6-2 and Dominik Köpfer eliminated Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-3.
In men’s doubles, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime and his American playing partner Frances Tiafoe lost 1-6, 7-6 (6) and 7-10 to Kazakh Alexander Bublik and American Ben Shelton in the first round.
Auger-Aliassime, 18e seeded, will begin his singles journey in the second round against the winner of the duel between the American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran and the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
On the ladies’ side, the ex-no 1 world Angelique Kerber soundly beat the 17e top seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-0; while Naomi Osaka defeated the 19e seeded Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2 in a match interrupted for an hour by rain.