Denis Shapovalov celebrates his win over Rafael Nadal in the third round of Internazionali BNL D'Italia at Foro Italico on May 12, 2022.Julian Finney/Getty Images
Canada’s Dennis Shapovalov advanced to the quarter-finals of the Italian Open tennis tournament Thursday with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 upset of clay-court legend Rafael Nadal.
Shapovalov was up 4-1 in the second set before Nadal rallied back to tie. But the 13th-seeded Canadian didn’t fold and forced a third set.
The Richmond Hill, Ont. player clinched the match with a break in the eighth game of the third set.
Nadal, the third seed in Rome, entered the tournament with a 466-44 career record on clay.
Shapovalov is now 2-4 lifetime against Nadal. He will face fifth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway in Friday’s quarter-finals.
Earlier Thursday, Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced to the quarter-finals.
Andreescu beat Serbia’s Petra Marti 6-4, 6-4 in the women’s tournament. The product of Mississauga, Ont., faces top-seeded Iga Swiatek in the next round.
Swiatek is the defending champion in Rome and is attempting to win her fifth consecutive tournament.
Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime bounced American Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 in the men’s third round.
He will face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic beat Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday.