Tennis: Nadal admits he needs more matches as he’s shocked by Fritz in ATP Finals opener
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TURIN - Rafael Nadal suffered a disastrous start to his bid to win the ATP Finals for the first time after crashing to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 defeat by Taylor Fritz on Sunday.
Spanish top seed Nadal arrived in Italy having competed in only one singles match since his fourth-round US Open loss two months ago and his lack of recent competition showed as he was unable to keep pace with Fritz as the match wore on.
“I need more matches to play at this kind of level, even if I am practising well, much better than how I am competing, without a doubt. That’s normal,” Nadal told reporters.
“At the end is not the ideal tournament and probably part of the season to come back after a couple of months without being on the tour because you don’t have time to get confidence.”
The year-ending Finals is the only major trophy missing from tennis icon Nadal’s list of honours but his straight-sets loss means he will struggle to escape the round-robin stage.
The 36-year-old realistically needs to win both his remaining matches against Green Group opponents Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Alissime if he is to make the semi-finals.
Fritz is at the Finals for the first time in his career after replacing injured world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and gave Nadal a torrid time with some aggressive tennis.
“I did a good job, protecting my serve, holding my serve and I did very well in tie-breaker,” said Fritz on court.
“Once I got through that I just wanted to do the same thing I was doing in the second set, protecting my serve and capitalise on break points when I got them.”
Ruud was also a straight-sets winner over Auger-Alissime, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, in the day’s other singles contest. The Norwegian sits behind Fritz in the standings with the top two from each group progressing to the semi-finals.
The world No. 4 came through an uninspiring encounter in 1hr 51min after claiming his one and only chance to break Canadian Auger-Alissime’s serve in game seven of the second set.
This season’s Roland Garros and US Open finalist then served out the rest of the set to claim the win.
“I think this is some of the best level that I’ve played since the US Open,” said Ruud, who reached the final of the year’s last Grand Slam in New York.
“The last couple of months have been a little bit of a struggle, I have to honestly say that, but you have to accept it as well. You will face difficult moments in your career, and maybe these last couple of months was one of those.” AFP, REUTERS
