Rafael Nadal came to Turin in hope of winning his first ATP Finals title and his second title on indoor hardcourt. However, his run ended early in the piece after the Spaniard lost back-to-back matches.
Nadal, 36, has had his share of struggles with injuries and inconsistent form. He has not had much game time under his belt as of late. He participated in the Paris Masters but his campaign came to an end in the round of 32 after he lost to Tommy Paul.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost his first two matches at the ATP Finals against Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime. These disappointing results knocked him out of the competition. He will now face Casper Ruud in his final match of the season.
While a section of fans believe that Nadal has run his race, commentator Brett Haber refused to read too much into his result at the ATP Finals. Haber took to Twitter and mentioned how Nadal has not excelled on indoor hardcourts in the past. He wrote:
“If you want to debate how long Rafael Nadal can/should keep playing, fine — that’s your right. But let’s not do it because he lost 2 matches in a row on a lightning-fast, low-bouncing indoor hardcourt vs top-10 opponents. Never been his jam. Not indicative of anything, IMO.”
Can Rafael Nadal successfully defend his Australian Open title?
Rafael Nadal has vowed to keep trying in order to get back to his highest playing level. He has proven his doubters wrong on numerous occasions and there is no reason why he can’t do the same yet again.
Nadal will have a lot of time to ponder and work on certain aspects he and Carlos Moya deem necessary. They will have to churn out plans in order to tackle the new generation of players as well because the days of the ‘Big 3’ dominating the tour seems to have taken a backseat.
While Roger Federer has announced his retirement, the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud, and other youngsters have emerged and shown potential to run the show.
Still, there is no reason to write off the former world No. 1 just after four consecutive losses. The fact that he has not played too much in recent times should also be taken into consideration. With more games under his belt, Nadal can once again mesmerize the tennis world.
The current world No. 2 has had a great season if we look at it overall. He began with a bang by winning a title in Melbourne prior to the Australian Open. After winning his second Australian Open title, Nadal managed to win the Mexican Open. After a few indifferent results, Nadal won a record-extending 14th French Open title. Nadal was playing quite well at the Wimbledon Championships and reached the semis. However, an abdominal tear forced him to withdraw from the competition. Since then, Nadal has played quite sparingly. He wouldn’t be too happy with himself with his results in the latter half of the season but the lack of matches has hindered his progress. The abdominal tear has also forced Nadal to make some changes to his serve and that has not helped as well.
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