ATP Finals: Rafael Nadal - "Everything went so fast"
Rafael Nadal showed himself combative after his opening defeat at the ATP Finals 2022 in Turin. But I also don't want to have any illusions.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Nov 14, 2022, 04:45 pm
Of course, Rafael Nadal still signed autographs on Monday evening in Turin, even as a loser. A wonderful gesture that has long since become customary for the Spaniard (and which Félix Auger-Aliassime also adopted in the afternoon). The defeat against Taylor Fritz was not entirely unexpected - after all, it was only the second competitive game that Nadal played after the US Open. The first had also gone awry against Fritz' good buddy Tommy Paul in Paris-Bercy.
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The 22-time Grand Slam champion is already under pressure against Félix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday, just like his opponent, of course. Because the Canadian also had an unsatisfactory Sunday behind him. After the performances of the last few weeks, the bankruptcy against Casper Ruud was almost more unexpected than Nadal's 6: 7 (3) and 1: 6 in the evening.
Fritz like the revenant of Sock
Taylor Fritz, it should also be noted, showed himself to be Jack Sock's revenant on the first day of the finals. Especially when it comes to serve and forehand. There was a lot of wrist involved, the conditions in the Turin hall benefit the American significantly more than Rafael Nadal. Which the Spanish grandmaster also confirmed in his press conference after the match.
"In tennis and in sport in general, it's about time," analyzed Nadal. “I had less time than him to do what I was going to do with the ball. It seemed to me that everything happened so quickly. When that happens, you get stressed and you can no longer play the shots that you originally planned to play.”
Nadal challenged by top opponents
"I was in a defensive position for most of the points," continued Nadal. On the other hand, he pointed out that Turin was also played under special circumstances in other respects. After an injury break, he is not used to playing against a top player on the first day. But that happened to him in Paris-Bercy with Tommy Paul and now with Taylor Fritz.
The next attempt must be successful. Because if you lose to Auger-Aliassime, Rafael Nadal will probably not win his first title at the unofficial ATP World Championship this year either.
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