Not long before everything became about Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal was the story in men’s tennis this year. He had only just taken his first uncertain steps back from a near six-month layoff when, suddenly, he was spectacularly lifting the Australian Open trophy, compiling a 20-match winning streak and embarking on the best start to a season in his 20-year career.
Yet as quickly as fortunes can change and momentum can unexpectedly build in tennis, so too can it all collapse. This week at the Italian Open, Nadal finds himself in a starkly different position as he continues to navigate his return to form after being out for six weeks following the fractured rib that troubled him during the final of Indian Wells, which he lost to Taylor Fritz. In his first match in Rome, Nadal overcame a complicated start before finishing strongly to defeat John Isner 6-3, 6-1.
