Nadal suffers second ATP Finals defeat
Nadal had surprised even himself by winning the Australian Open and French Open to hold the record of 22 grand-slam men’s singles titles
A season that started with two grand-slam titles is coming to a tame end for Rafael Nadal. The 36-year-old’s run of four consecutive losses is his worst period of form on the tour since 2009.
Nadal is unable to qualify for the last four of the ATP Finals after a second defeat in the group stages — 6-3, 6-4 by Félix Auger-Aliassime. It means that the season-ending championships remains the biggest title missing from his CV after going no further than a runner-up finish in 2010 and 2013.
Nadal had surprised even himself by winning the Australian Open and French Open to hold the record of 22 grand-slam men’s singles titles, but he has not looked comfortable since his withdrawal from the Wimbledon semi-finals with an abdominal injury. His most recent win came on September 3, in the third round of the US Open.
Nadal has also recently experienced a life-changing moment off the court with the arrival of his first son. With this all in mind, it is perhaps understandable that he has looked off the pace at the season-ending championships in Turin this week.
“It has been six tough months in all ways,” Nadal said. “When you are facing all the circumstances that I faced in the last six months, to be here is positive. That’s the main thing.
“The only thing that I can do is to keep working and keep doing the things that I need to do to give myself a chance to start with real chances in 2023. That’s the thing. I was able to play two tournaments in the last three weeks [including the Paris Masters, where he lost his first match]. That’s the positive thing, something that I was not able to do for a while.
“I don’t think I forget how to play tennis, how to be strong enough mentally. I just need to recover all these positive feelings, all this confidence and all this strong mentality that I need to be at the level that I want to be. I don’t know if I’m going to reach that level again. But I don’t have any doubt that I am going to die for it.”
Nadal faced the unusual situation on Tuesday of going up against his uncle Toni, who now coaches Auger-Aliassime. He failed to convert five break points and struggled to contend with the serve of the 22-year-old Canadian, which produced a total of 15 aces.
One group match against Casper Ruud on Thursday remains before Nadal starts plotting for the defence of his Australian Open title in January. He will face a stiff challenge in Melbourne from the likes of his fierce rival Novak Djokovic and the world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
“What can happen in Australia? I don’t know,” Nadal said. “A month and a half remains.
“What I have to do now is come back, work hard, stay positive every single day, accept the challenge, accept that I am going to need to suffer a little bit more. If I will be ready to go through all of this process, we are going to know in a couple of months whether I have the determination going through that.”
Nadal’s exit means that his Spanish compatriot Carlos Alcaraz is now guaranteed to become the youngest ever year-end ATP world No 1. The 19-year-old, who won his first grand slam title at the US Open in September, is absent in Turin this week because of an abdominal tear.
