“Indoor hard court is my worst surface”, Rafael Nadal accepts his demons at the ATP Finals as he looks for his first title in his 18th appearance
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Rafael Nadal - IMAGO / NurPhoto
22-time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal at 36 is still determined to improve despite being one of the most popular and well-known faces in the tennis community. The Spanish legend is in Turin already with his wife and newborn baby boy to try his chances in the ATP finals for the 18th time. For those uninitiated, the 2022 ATP finals is one of the few tournaments he was never able to win. Rafel has qualified for the ATP Finals for a record 18 times and has been eligible to participate in the year-ending championship every single year since 2005.
As reported by Marca (translated via Google), Rafa admitted he has room for improvement when it comes to indoor hard courts. As per the tennis sensation himself, he didn’t have enough gas left while playing the ATP finals every year, mostly because it happens towards the very end of the season. “I have lacked being a better player. Being better on the indoor track. This is the reality of sports. I have qualified 17 times, but I have not been 17 times competitive.”
Rafa continued how he rates his indoor game as he said, “I don’t know how many times I’ve been able to play the Masters with real options. Historically, the indoor court has been the worst surface for me, but in recent years I indeed think I’ve improved a lot on this surface.“
Rafael Nadal’s incredible 2022 season
Rafael Nadal is having one of his greatest seasons ever in 2022. Despite the injury setbacks, he was able to dominate the first half of the season, winning both majors at the Australian Open and the French Open. The Australian Open run itself is enough to make this season remarkable for him and his fans.
After clinching the ATP-250 Melbourne summer set to prepare for the Australian Open, the Spaniard showed off incredible form. The epic win over Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals and the comeback against Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the Australian Open is still one of the most cherished cross-generation clashes of all times.
Later, after winning the ATP-500 Acapulco open and being 20-0 in the season leading to the Indian wells Masters final, he suffered a rib injury and lost to Taylor Fritz. Then after taking some weeks off, he showed the world why he is the undisputed king of clay in the Parisian dirt by defeating Felix-Auger Aliassime in a 5-set thriller in the quarter-finals followed by the revenge against the Serbian Great Novak Djokovic in 4 sets in the semi-final. The final was a cakewalk as he thrashed Casper Ruud in straights.
However, he had to withdraw from the Wimbledon semi-finals due to an abdomen injury. Nadal’s abdomen tear is still not completely healed, as is evident from the shocking loss to Frances Tiafoe in the Pre-Quarter Final of the US Open. He played the tournament with a changed serving motion to save his abdomen from further tears but didn’t work out quite well.
Rafa has played only one match post the US Open where he lost in 3 sets against the American World No.29, Tommy Paul. Rafa admitted later that he had some stomach issues during the third set of that match. The Tennis world is looking forward to seeing how Rafael Nadal copes in Turin this time around.
Also Read: ATP Finals 2022: Rafael Nadal vs Taylor Fritz Live Stream, Match Details, Preview and Prediction
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Vipul Payattuparambil
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