Rafael Nadal made sure to not return from the ATP Finals without a win to his name. Nadal beat Casper Ruud in straight sets in the last league match to ensure a win in the tournament. Earlier, Rafael Nadal lost to Taylor Fritz and Felix Auguer-Aliassime in the starting matches of the tournament. Interestingly, Nadal’s defeat against Felix ensured that Carlos Alcaraz will become the youngest ever year-end No. 1 ever. Nadal’s defeat costed the semi-final, ultimately, causing Alcaraz to rest safely at the top spot without even participating in the ATP Finals.
As for the win, Nadal defeated the Spaniard in straight sets of 7-5, 7-5 in a match that lasted an hour and 42 minutes. Nadal looked motivated to end the losing streak as he appeared for the match in Turin, Italy against Ruud. The modern-day great’s winning game included 16 aces, moreover, he scored 93% of points on the first serve. Casper Ruud, however, has qualified for the semi-final of the Finals despite the latest defeat. Ruud sits at the top of his group in the Finals that’s played in the Round-robin format with 8 players placed into two groups of 4 each.
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With this win, Rafael Nadal will end the 2022 season having already exited the ATP Finals. His records for this season look as fine as his form in the latest match. Nadal ends this season with a record of 38-6, adorned with the Grand Slam Titles- the Australian and the French Open. For the rest of the titles, Nadal faced a foot injury just ahead of the semi-final at Wimbledon. The injury-laden retirement eventually pushed Nadal out of the Grand Slam run as Nick Kyrgios marched on to the final, ultimately, losing to Novak Djokovic. And in the US Open, Nadal exited after a defeat against Frances Tiafoe in the Round of 16.
