TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Rafael Nadal said he was slow and rusty as he suffered a disastrous start to his bid to win the ATP Finals for the first time after crashing to a 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 defeat to Taylor Fritz on Sunday.
“It’s about time,” the 36-year-old said. “I have less time than him to do what I want to do on the ball. I felt that everything was going so fast.”
The year-ending Finals is the only major trophy missing from tennis icon Nadal’s list of honors but his straight-sets loss means he will struggle to escape the round-robin stage.
He probably needs to win both his remaining matches against Green Group opponents Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime if he is to make the semi-finals.
Nadal, who had not played on the tour since the US Open in September, said he is struggling to rediscover his best form after recent injuries.
Ruud was also a straight-sets winner over Auger-Alissime, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, in the day’s other singles contest. The Norwegian sits behind Fritz in the standings with the top two from each group progressing to the semis.
The world number four came through an uninspiring encounter in one hour and 51 minutes after claiming his one and only chance to break Canadian Auger-Aliassime’s serve in game seven of the second set.
This season’s Roland Garros and US Open finalist then served out the rest of the set to claim the win.
