Rafael Nadal will kick off his 11th ATP Finals campaign on Sunday night. Rafa will seek his first crown in the ATP Finals, and his first rival will be Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard and the American will meet for the third time in 2022, playing all the games on the big stage.
Nadal is hoping for a good result on his debut in Turin, as he has only played six matches after withdrawing from Wimbledon and dealing with an abdominal injury. Rafa was fired early at the Paris Masters and needs a deep run in Turin if he wants to overtake Carlos Alcaraz and finish the season as No.
1 of the year for the sixth time. Nadal has a 20-16 record at the ATP Finals, reaching two finals in 2010 and 2013 and four more semi-finals, including two years ago when he had a big chance against Daniil Medvedev. Rafa and Taylor reached the Indian Wells final, with the Spaniard seeking his fourth title in as many tournaments in 2022.
With a fractured rib, Nadal lost 6-3, 7-6 in two hours and six minutes, and Fritz celebrated his first Masters 1000 crown. The Spaniard gave it his all despite playing below his best level, wasting his chances in the second set and experiencing the first loss of 2022.
Two rivals met again in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and They turned into a crack. Nadal needed four hours and 20 minutes to score a memorable 3-6 7-5 3-6 7-5 7-6 victory despite a huge torn muscle in his abdomen. Rafa struggled with his opening shot, and things didn’t look good after the third set.
Uncle Toni on Rafa Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni recently commented on the Spaniard’s appetite for continuously improving himself. “In the end, surpassing others is not always feasible, surpassing yourself is the great challenge, it is what Rafa was forced to do more or less from a very young age, he understood it, and in life the fundamental thing is to improve above others in everything,” he said.
“We would have to ask ourselves if we are becoming a little weaker. I am sorry for those who have problems and we must try to make an effort as much as possible so that they are well, but we also have to get used to the fact that things are not necessarily go well,” Toni Nadal said.
“What I applied on the tennis court is the same as what I would have applied outside. I believe in effort, in work, meritocracy, I believe in people earning things with the sweat of their foreheads, in the case of Rafael with the sweat of the whole body, and that is what I applied,” he said.
