Nadal crashes to first Monte Carlo Masters defeat since 2015 as Fognini storms into final

Rafael Nadal crashed to Fabio Fognini in the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals on Saturday, the Spanish clay court king swept aside 6-4, 6-2, to end his bid for a 12th title.

The shock result leaves Italian 13th seed Fognini facing unseeded Serb Dusan Lajovic in Sunday’s unscripted final. Fognini, who beat Nadal three times all on clay in 2015, stopped a 25-set winning streak in the principality for the world No 2.

The last man to take a set off Nadal in Monte Carlo was Britain’s Kyle Edmund in 2017. Fognini ended Nadal’s Monte Carlo reign on the fifth match point.

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