Rafael Nadal got confused with the Americans – Sport – Kommersant

The Nitto ATP Finals, the final tournament of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) with a prize fund of $14.75 million, has started in Turin. Nadal lost to American Taylor Fritz. With the latest news from Italy – Kommersant correspondent Yevgeny Fedyakov.

Rafael Nadal, of course, by no means could be called the favorite of the final tournament. The problems he experiences on the indoor courts have been known for a very long time, and the closer the end of the magnificent Spaniard’s exceptional career, the more reason to believe that the title of winner of the Nitto ATP Finals will remain an unconquered pinnacle for him. However, hope dies last, and the experience, which the 36-year-old star does not hold, is of great importance in Turin. This was indirectly confirmed by the opening match of the current competition – between Kasper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian debutant of the APR summit seemed to look very good. He won 84% of the points on his first serve and made 14 aces, however, on the tie-break of the first game and in the seventh game of the second set, he gave up slack and eventually lost to last year’s Norwegian semi-finalist, who was 100% reliable almost from the beginning to the end of the game, and with draw key points – just flawless. As a result – 7:6 (7:4), 6:4 in 1 hour 51 minutes.

For Nadal fans, who were in the clear majority in the Pala Alpitour stands this Sunday evening, the meeting with American Taylor Fritz served as a kind of litmus test. She was supposed to show to what extent their age idol, who managed to become a father two months after the US Open, but played only one match, is ready to fight with three competitors, each of whom is at least 11 years younger than him. Two weeks ago in Paris, Nadal also got the representative of the United States in the opening match – Tommy Paul, who forced him, with the help of his not outstanding, but very aggressive game, to go on the defensive and managed to achieve a radical change in the tie-break of the second game. So Fritz had to do about the same thing. He needed to exert maximum playing pressure on Nadal, often at the risk. Otherwise, the veteran, most likely, would have run over him and overcome him.

The psychological background of the current meeting was connected with this year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals, one of the most dramatic matches of that tournament. Nadal then played for about four hours with an injury to his abdominal muscles, losing 1:2 in sets, but won the brightest victory in the super tie-break of the fifth game, after which he decided not to go to the semifinals against Nick Kirios. One can only imagine how much it hurt Fritz then. Such mental slaps are not forgotten, and he probably believed in the possibility of revenge, even if he finished the Turin race only ninth, and got into the list of participants in the tournament after this time Nadal’s heir, the current world ranking leader Carlos Alcaras, injured his abdominals.

During the warm-up, it seemed that Nadal was nervous. He immediately began to hit the ball too hard over the net, and Fritz mostly had to answer from small outs. But the American took this mental mini-attack absolutely calmly, and then began to rationally solve his tactical task – to force Nadal to play on the move, minimizing the time for his preparation for each blow. The Spaniard fought back as best he could. Once he managed to “extinguish” Fritz’s low candle with a magnificent reverse, to which the grateful audience responded with a well-deserved ovation. However, in the end, the consistent actions of the American bore fruit. In the third and seventh games, Nadal played a total of three break points, but the end of the tie-break was left for his opponent, followed by a relatively fast second set. Having managed not to bring things to an acute phase, the failed substitute won a rather comfortable victory – 7:6 (7:3), 6:1 in an hour and a half, and according to the results of the first round, thanks to the best additional indicators, he became the leader of the Green Group. True, while this does not guarantee him anything. In any case, Auger-Aliassime, who, despite the defeat, looked good enough, is certainly not going to give up, and Nadal, who will face the Canadian on Tuesday, promised at a press conference to continue the fight for reaching the semi-finals.

On the second day of the tournament, representatives of the Red Group enter the fight. In the afternoon match, Daniil Medvedev will meet with Andrei Rublev, and in the evening Serb Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will play.