Top seed Rafael Nadal will look to get his ATP Finals campaign back on track when he locks horns with Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round-robin stage of the tournament on Tuesday.
The former world No. 1 has been having a troublesome second half of the season. He has struggled with injuries that have sidelined him from action for long periods, and when he has returned, he has lost in the early goings of tournaments. The lack of competitive playing time has not allowed the Spaniard to regain his rhythm.
Nadal came into the tournament after a disappointing campaign in the Paris Masters. He lost in the round of 32 to Tommy Paul. In his opening encounter in Turin, Nadal squared off against Taylor Fritz. The American youngster notched up his second win against Nadal in 2022 in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
The 22-year-old, on the other hand, has been in scintillating form in the second half of the season. He won three titles in the month of October and came to Turin on the back of a semi-final exit at the Paris Masters.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is making his debut at the ATP Finals did not have a great start. He faced the 2022 US Open runner-up Casper Ruud in his first match. Both men held serves until Ruud managed to force a break in the seventh game of the second set and that helped him win the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 2-0 in favor of Nadal. He won their last encounter in the fourth round of the 2022 French Open in five sets.
Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win in three sets.
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