Monte Carlo Masters: Fabio Fognini dethrones Rafael Nadal in semi-finals

What's the story?

Rafael Nadal had been out with injury since withdrawing from his semi-final clash with Roger Federer at Indian Wells in March.

This has become a fairly common practice for Nadal, with the Spaniard hardly been able to complete a hard court tournament last year.

Nevertheless, Nadal has been immaculate on clay over the last two years winning the lion's share of trophies in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

In case you didn't know

After advancing through the opening rounds of the Monte Carlo Masters, it appeared as though Nadal was approaching his brilliant best, just in time for the clay season.

With Federer opting out of the Monte Carlo Masters, his only real threat on the red dirt was Novak Djokovic. With the Serbian ousted in the quarter finals, it seemed inevitable that the title would be Nadal's once again.

The heart of the matter

Fabio Fognini had other ideas, however, and despite having only beaten the Spanish legend three times in his career, he managed to pull off a huge upset, defeating Nadal in straight sets.

Before the match, Nadal had admitted he would rather not face the Italian, due to his tricky and unpredictable play style. Nevertheless, few could have imagined, including Nadal, that he would lose, let alone in straight sets.

The first set began with Fognini breaking Nadal's serve, only for it to be broken back twice, giving Nadal a 3-1 lead.

Showing dogged determination, Fognini levelled the score to 4-4, eventually winning the first set 6-4. This was the first set that Nadal had dropped in Monte Carlo for 2 years, even so, it still seemed unfathomable that the Spanish great would lose.

Things went from bad to worse as Nadal was broken multiple times in the 2nd set and trailed the Italian 0-5. However, managing to save a couple of match points and even breaking Fognini's serve, the Spaniard saved himself from the ultimate embarrassment of being bagelled.

The comeback would end there, though, as Fognini held his nerve and serve and won the second set 6-2 and the match itself, advancing to tomorrow's final.

This year seems less bright for the Spaniard who typically uses the clay season to compensate for his comparatively inconsistent performances on hard and grass.

And although the clay court swing has only just started, it is clear that Nadal was hoping for a title at Monte Carlo, which would've incidentally been his first of the entire season.

What's next?

Fognini will compete for the Monte Carlo Masters title tomorrow afternoon with Dusan Lajovic.

For Nadal, however, the immediate future is less clear. Whilst we do not yet know whether the injuries he had been harbouring this season are still present, or whether he was caught on a bad day, he is expected to play at the Barcelona Open which starts next week.