Rafael Nadal has been knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters after suffering a shock 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Fabio Fognini in the semifinals.
It is the second upset in as many days at the Masters with world No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic eliminated in the previous round.
Fognini produced a sensational display to take the first set and although Nadal momentarily fought back from 5-0 down in the second, the Italian secured the memorable victory in 1 hour and 36 minutes.
The Italian had beaten Nadal twice before on clay, and also once at the U.S. Open in five sets, but this was arguably the most impressive.
Nadal’s last defeat here was also in the semifinals, against Djokovic in 2015. He had not lost a set at the clay-court tournament since conceding one in the second round against Britain’s Kyle Edmund in 2017.
“It was a tough day and [Fabio] was a difficult opponent,” said Nadal. “I am coming from low moments in terms of injuries, and in terms of the mental side it has not been easy to accept all the things that have been going on… It was this kind of day that everything was wrong.”