MONACO — Fabio Fognini ended Rafael Nadal’s long winning streak at the Monte Carlo Masters, stunning him, 6-4, 6-2, Saturday to reach the final for the first time and hand Nadal his first defeat here since 2015. Fognini, the 13th-seeded Italian, had beaten Nadal twice before on clay, and also once at the United States Open in five sets, but this was arguably the most impressive victory. “I played one of my worst matches in 14 years,” Nadal said. “We can talk about technical and tactical things, but on this kind of day things are just not there. It’s difficult to find an explanation.”Not since the 2005 final, a five-setter which Nadal won in four sets, has the 11-time champion Nadal been beaten, 6-0, in a set here.

Source: New York Times April 20, 2019 16:07 UTC