ATP Finals: Rafa Nadal’s chances of winning the ATP Finals title were destroyed by Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated the struggling Spaniard 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in round-robin play at Turin’s Pala Alpitour Stadium.
To have a chance of finishing the season as the No. 1 player in the world, Nadal must win the year-end championship for the first time in his brilliant career, but he deteriorated after a promising start.
The 35-year-old is currently last in his group with one match remaining against Norway’s Casper Ruud after being defeated by American Taylor Fritz in his opening encounter on Sunday.
For the first time since 2009, Nadal, the record-holding 22-time Grand Slam victor, has now dropped four straight ATP Tour matches.
With a chance to advance to the round of 16, Auger-Aliassime will play Fritz in his final group encounter under the tutelage of Toni, Nadal’s uncle and longtime mentor who sat in his box.
In the opening set, Nadal occasionally had the upper hand and twice came close to breaking the serve of his Canadian opponent, who was defeated on Sunday by Ruud in his tournament debut.
3-4 serving Nadal had a 40-0 lead but Auger-Aliassime broke thanks to a few double faults and baseline mistakes.
The four-time champion Auger-Aliassime finished off the first set with a stronghold and took the lead early in the second.
Nadal displayed moments of brilliance but was unable to leave a lasting impact as he lost. If he defeats Casper Ruud in straight sets and other outcomes go in his favour, he still has a low chance, but one nonetheless, of making the semi-finals.
🚨 UPSET ALERT 🚨@felixtennis defeats Nadal 6-3 6-4 to capture his first victory at the #NittoATPFinals 💪 pic.twitter.com/IpKd4BcBe1
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 15, 2022
“I start my 2023 season tomorrow.”
The former world number one still has a remote chance of making it to the semifinals, but he must defeat Casper Ruud in a single set and hope that other outcomes will go his way.
But Nadal acknowledged that his performance thus far has been far below par.
Nadal, who has suffered with injuries and recently became a parent for the first time, remarked that being here is great when one is dealing with the situations that he or she has been through over the past six months.
“It is not shocking to see what is happening. That does not negate the fact that I am disappointed in the outcome. It is a scenario that is conceivable.
“I have to face the fact that my 2023 season begins tomorrow. Just that. The only thing I can do is keep working and take the necessary steps to give myself a chance to start in 2023 with real chances.
“I don’t believe I ever lose my mental or physical capacity for tennis. I simply need to regain all of my positive emotions, confidence, and strong mentality in order to perform at the level I desire.”
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