Day: September 21, 2020

Rafael Nadal’s first tournament in seven months ended with a 6-2, 7-5 loss to Diego
Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. Nadal, a nine-time champion in
Rome, had never lost to the 15th-ranked Schwartzman in nine previous meetings. For
two months during the lockdown, Nadal said, he didn’t touch a tennis racket. Earlier,
Novak Djokovic lost his cool again midway through a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over German
qualifier Dominik Koepfer — less than two weeks after getting defaulted from the U.S.
Open.