The Legend’s mediocre comeback hasn’t dampened his ambitions for more Slams.
Rafael Nadal has said he is “dying” to return to the level of tennis where he won 22 Grand Slam titles and hopes to become world No.1 by winning his first ATP Finals title. year. Tuesday is sold out.
The 36-year-old Spaniard lost to Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3,6-4 in Turin after losing to Taylor Fritz on Sunday. To stay in the final, Nadal needed a straight sets win over Fritzke Casper Roux on Tuesday.
But his victory over Ruud Fritz marked a dramatic start for Nadal as fellow teenage US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz ended the year as the men’s top player. Ruud then beat Fritz 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) to advance to the semi-finals, where Fritz will decide who advances to the final in Auger-Aliassime on Thursday.
Nadal needed to win the year-end title for the first time in his trophy-laden career to prevent Alcaraz from taking the top spot. “I don’t forget to play tennis to develop my mental stamina,” Nadal said after his third singles match at the US Open in September.
“I just need to get back the positive vibes, confidence and strong mindset that I need to get to the level I want to be. “And I don’t know if I’ll ever get to that level, but I’m sure I’ll die for it.”
Nadal, who has won the Australian Open and French Open this year, praised the 19-year-old Alcaraz, who will miss Turin with an abdominal injury. “It’s good for Carlos in this situation,” Nadal said.
“I am happy with him. A great achievement for him. Well done. Good news for our sport in Spain. He deserved it after a great season.”
‘very special’
Nadal’s rusty form showed against Auger-Aliassime, who is in the form of a lifetime after winning three times in October. “It’s good to beat him and survive the tournament!” Auger-Aliassime said.
“I’ve been playing great tennis for the last month and to beat a player of his stature is very special.”
Nadal denied all four break points in the first set, although the 22-year-old Canadian rival avoided the break at 3-3 with two excellent forehands. And Auger-Aliassime was the only one offered that didn’t spoil the Spaniard.
The Canadian was equally clinical when presented with two set points, the first of which he converted. Nadal did not perform well in the second set as he took a break to spend time with his son, who was born in October.
Auger-Aliassime holds Nadal at 1-1 and the Spaniard sends a forehand long. Auger-Aliassime struck the ball with stunning accuracy and smiled wistfully as one of them flew off the roof of the indoor arena.
Nadal had few opportunities to pressure Auger-Aliassime. When they played well, but earned the first break point of the second set on the opponent’s serve, 2-3. But once again he couldn’t hold it and Auger-Aliassime took serve and had no trouble after that. Eventually closing out the match with the first of two match points.
Nadal, 36, has suffered four consecutive defeats for the second time in his career. She has played eight singles since withdrawing from Wimbledon due to injury.
“Some positives. I was able to participate in two tournaments in the last 3 weeks. “It’s positive. It’s something I haven’t been able to do for a while,” Nadal said. Nadal has never won an ATP final in 10 tries.
“I didn’t know if I could come here one day or if I was just dreaming,” Auger-Aliassime said of his first win against Nadal in three tries. “The age difference is huge. He’s still 36 and he’s fighting 20-year-old men, so it shows what a champion and role model he is. He’s a great champion and has a great attitude.”
Novak reinforcement
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic will be granted a visa to compete at the Australian Open next year despite being expelled in January. On Tuesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation confirmed a newspaper report that the immigration minister had lifted Djokovic’s three-year ban. The 21-time Grand Slam champion was barred from defending his Australian. Open title this year after his visa was revoked following a 10-day legal battle over his COVID-19 vaccination status.