Rafael Nadal’s hopes of a maiden ATP Finals title are over after he was knocked out of the tournament in the group stage. He was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Felix Auger-Aliassime after a first-round loss to American Taylor Fritz in Turin. The 36-year-old’s retirement means fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will finish 2022 as world number one. Norway’s Kasper Ruud needed to win just one set against Fritz on Tuesday to eliminate Nadal. Rudd, who had already beaten Auger-Aliassim, outlasted Fritz 6-3 4-6 7-6 (8-6) in a hard-fought encounter and now tops the Green Group with two wins from two. “I mean, I don’t think I forget how to play tennis, how to be strong enough mentally,” Nadal said. “I just have to get back all those positive feelings and all that confidence and all that strong mindset that I need to be at the level that I want to be. “I don’t know if I’ll get to that level again, but I have no doubt [about]is that I will die for it.’ The 19-year-old Alcaraz, who won the US Open in September, is the youngest ever year-end world number one but is not competing in Turin due to injury. Nadal has now lost four straight matches heading into the US Open. Meanwhile, Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram, who successfully defended their US Open title this year, beat Lloyd Glasspool and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara in the men’s doubles 7-5 6-4. On Wednesday Novak Djokovic, who won his opening match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, will face Andrei Rublev in his second match in the Finals, while Tsitsipas will face Daniil Medvedev. ATP Tour Finals: Which player has the best stats of 2022?
