November 15, (THEWILL) – Rafa Nadal’s chances of winning the ATP Finals title were dashed by Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated the struggling Spaniard 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday, in round-robin play at Turin’s Pala Alpitour Stadium.
To have a chance of finishing the season as the No. 1 player in the world, Nadal must win the year-end championship for the first time in his brilliant career, but he faltered after a promising start.
The 35-year-old is currently last in his group with one match remaining against Norway’s Casper Ruud, after being defeated by American, Taylor Fritz, in his opening encounter on Sunday.
For the first time since 2009, Nadal, the record-holding 22-time Grand Slam victor, has now dropped four straight ATP Tour matches.
Nadal showed flashes of brilliance, but was unable to beat Auger-Aliassime, who is currently coached by Toni, Nadal’s uncle and longtime mentor. Auger-Aliassime will play Fritz in his final group match with a chance to make the last four. Even if the odds are slight, Nadal still has a chance to go to the semi-finals if he defeats Casper Ruud in straight sets and the other outcomes fall in his favour.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.