Despite Rafael Nadal being knocked out of the ATP Finals, Casper Ruud believes he can’t be comfortable against the Spaniard who will have revenge on his mind
Follow Us
Casper Ruud and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal‘s wait for his maiden title at the Year-End Championships will continue for another season. The 22-time major winner has now lost both of his round-robin matches in the 2022 ATP Finals. After Taylor Fritz defeated him in straight-sets, Felix Auger-Aliassime followed a similar suit defeating Nadal taking a 6–3, 6–4 win.
Nadal’s defeat to Aliassime meant he also lost the chance to finish the year as World No. 1 as he needed to win the Finals in order to reach the top of the rankings. With indoor hardcourts being a difficult surface for Nadal, the theory was on display again as he failed to win a single set in his two matches.
Nadal’s final group stage match will be against Casper Ruud who became the first to qualify for the semi-finals following his win over Fritz. While the match is now a dead rubber as Nadal can’t qualify, Ruud’s only motivation will be to avenge his French Open loss against the Spaniard which will also send him to the top of the table.
“You can never feel comfortable playing against Rafa, no matter what form he is in or what situation he is in. I mean, he had two tough losses here. However, Thursday’s match will take place in very different conditions from those we experienced at Roland Garros this year, that’s for sure. It’s not a best-of-five match and it’s on a hard court. Everything is different. But you can never doubt Rafa.
“He has proven it many times. Every game here is important. You play for the points and for the ranking. I’m sure he would like to take some kind of revenge for his two losses and end his season in style. Obviously, for me, it would be a dream to come out of this group with three wins. But the next match will certainly be very difficult. It will always be a little more special to play against him,” said Ruud as per Welovetennis.
Rafael Nadal is on course for his worst performance at the ATP Finals
Nadal‘s qualification at the ATP Finals this year was his 17th at the tournament. Of the 17 qualifications, he turned up for only 10 events going into this year’s tournament which is his 11th appearance at the tournament. He is a 2-time runner-up at the Finals while also being a 4-time semi-finalist.
This year’s exit will be Nadal’s 5th group stage exit. His worst exit however came in 2009 when he lost all three of his matches. He failed to win a single set that year and had a 24-38 win-loss record for the games contested. Going into the match against Ruud, Nadal’s numbers are quite similar.
With two straight-set defeats, Nadal is having a 14-25 record for games won to lost. A win against Ruud would be nothing but a consolation for him but would also help him save some face as a defeat by a big margin would create a record that Nadal would like to forget as he needs to win at least 10 games to go clear of his 2009 record.
Stay Updated!
Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)