Rafael Nadal suffered a disappointing exit from the Rome Open on Saturday, bowing out in the second round with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.
This defeat to the seventh seed raises questions about whether the clay-court maestro will participate in the upcoming French Open, where he boasts a record 14 titles.
Nadal has emphasized that his decision to compete at Roland Garros hinges on his sense of competitiveness, particularly given his recent string of injury setbacks. Currently ranked 305th in the world, Nadal remains cautious about committing to the prestigious tournament.
And the manner of his elimination in his first ever encounter with 27-year-old Hurkacz was a step backwards after reaching the last 16 in Madrid.
Nadal held his own in the first two games in the first set, which took 26 minutes to complete, but then fell away as errors handed Hurkacz points.
The 37-year-old twice gave away breaks of serve with miscued drop shots in the first set which Hurkacz closed out in 49 minutes as he blew through five straight games.
And the match was as good as done when Hurkacz, who did not drop a single service game, broke Nadal in the third game of the second set to set up a famous victory.
That level of dominance over Nadal on clay, much less a court where he has won a record 10 titles, would have been unimaginable a few short years ago.
But Hurkacz will face Tomas Etcheverry in the third round after likely ending Nadal's love affair with Rome as the 22-time Grand Slam winner looks set to call time on his career at the end of the season.
(With inputs from AFP)
