The Balearic Islands take on Ruud, Auger-Aliassime and Fritz in a match that Alcaraz will miss
Luck smiled at Rafa Nadal on Thursday at the draw for the ATP Finals. Neither Novak Djokovic nor Daniil Medvedev are in the group of the Spaniards, who will face Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz in the first round of the Masters Cup. Djokovic and Medvedev, who have been framed in the red group and are the big favorites for the title, will share a quartet with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev. The big absentee from the year-end event is Carlos Alcaraz, who had to give up the rest of the season, including the Davis Cup in Malaga, due to a abdominal injury sustained at Paris-Bercy.
Nadal has two main goals in Turin. The first, taking a title that has eluded him in ten entries and that is enough for many not to consider him the best in history. While Roger Federer was crowned master six times and Djokovic five, Nadal reached only two finals, in 2010 (loss to Federer) and 2013 (loss to Djokovic).
The second is linked to the first and is that, if Nadal manages to win the title either by losing one or two games in the group stage or being undefeated, or if he reaches the final by winning the previous three games, he will beat Alcaraz in the rankings and will end the year as number one in the world.
The difference between Alcaraz and Nadal in the rankings is 1,000 points, so the man from Manacor will be able to outdo the Murcian by leveling that gap. Each win in the group stage distributes 200 points, winning in the semi-final 400 and the prize for winning the tournament is 500. In total, the unbeaten winner will receive 1,500 points, in addition to a prize of 4.7 million euros, the major of the ATP circuit. For Nadal, this would be the sixth time he has completed the course as the best, taking off in this statistic from Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors, equaling Pete Sampras and remaining one behind Djokovic, who has reached it seven times.
The draw in Turin was kind to Nadal, who will face three tennis players he dominates in the ‘head to head’ group stage. The Spaniard defeated Ruud in the final of Roland Garros this year, who has only won two games on the circuit after his final at the US Open. He dominates Auger-Aliassime 2-0 in personal history, with victories in Madrid 2019 and Roland Garros 2022. But the Canadian has raised his level much since Nadal defeated him in five sets in Paris. They have won 16 of the last 17 matches they have played and gradually won titles in Florence, Antwerp and Basel.
Only Fritz knows what it’s like to beat Nadal. He did so in the Indian Wells final this year, in a match that was marked by the Spaniard’s broken rib and the American’s ankle problems. Nadal got his revenge at Wimbledon months later, in a match that Nadal played with a stomach tear. Their first confrontation dates back to Acapulco 2020, with a simple victory for the Balearics.
It will be in the semi-finals when Nadal can face Djokovic, who has not won this title since 2015, Medvedev, winner in 2020, Tsitsipas, winner in 2019, or Rublev, who in his two appearances in the competition never made it to the top. reached the group stage.
Source: La Verdad
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