Nadal leaves ATP Finals with victory
Losing the first two matches to Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nadal is certain to be eliminated before meeting Casper Ruud. But the Spaniard still has plenty of motivation in the last match. A win at the ATP Finals is equivalent to 200 ATP bonus points and $383,000 in prize money. Not only that, Nadal needs to regain his confidence before the preparation period for the new season, after four consecutive defeats.
Since joining the ATP Tour, Nadal has never finished the year without a win on indoor hard courts. 2022 is no exception. Against the surest opponent in the group, Nadal played his best match of the tournament, scoring 16 ace points and winning 93% of first-ball points. During the whole match, Nadal did not let Ruud win a ball game.
Ruud also holds the serve firmly in most games, but always falls short in the decisive game. In the first set, the Norwegian player made three self-defeating mistakes and was led 0-40 in game 12. Nadal used the set-point to win 7-5. The same scenario came in the second set, when the 22 Grand Slam owner won another 7-5, for the second time in the season to beat the adult junior from the Nadal academy.
"In the end, satisfaction is more important than any title," Nadal said after the match. "I finally beat a big player. If I don't give my best on every ball, I can't go home with peace of mind."
Aside from his impressive serve, his forehand was also key to Nadal's victory. 20% of Spaniards' forehands result in winners. Nadal has 16 winners from forehand, and has a total of 38 winners, almost double Casper Ruud.
Ruud missed his chance for the first time in his career to win three games in a row against top 10 opponents. With two wins and one loss in the group stage, Ruud will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals. The only person who hasn't lost at the tournament is Novak Djokovic. The seventh seed still has a chance to own a record prize of $ 4.7 million for the undefeated champion. Djokovic is definitely the top of the Red group and will meet Fritz or Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.
