The ATP Finals begin on Sunday in Turin, Italy, featuring eight of the best singles players and doubles teams of 2022. Unfortunately World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is absent due to injury, but the field is still rather strong, boasting 44 Major singles titles and three former ATP Finals singles champions.
The Green Group, which will play their round robin matches on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, consists of Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Taylor Fritz. The Red Group, which will play on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, includes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Novak Djokovic.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup, while highlighting the other matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play begins at 11:30am local time.
Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Taylor Fritz (8) – Not Before 9:00pm
Nadal is 38-6 in 2022, with four titles, two of which were Majors (Australian Open, Roland Garros). As he has for much of his career, Rafa fought injuries throughout the year, but they severely impacted the second half of his season. He has not won a title in nearly six months, and has only played six matches since withdrawing from Wimbledon after overcoming Fritz in an epic quarterfinal. This is Rafa’s 11th appearance at the ATP Finals, which is the biggest tournament he’s yet to win.
This was easily the best season of Taylor’s career, with a record of 43-19, and three titles. One of those is his first Masters 1000 title, as he defeated Nadal in the final of Indian Wells. This is his ATP Finals debut, and he’s the first American to qualify since John Isner in 2018.
Nadal was significantly injured during both of their encounters this year. At Indian Wells, where Fritz prevailed in straight sets, Rafa suffered a rib injury during his semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz, which would force him to miss six weeks of action. At Wimbledon, where Nadal prevailed in a fifth-set tiebreak, he aggravated an abdominal injury and nearly retired during the match. Their only other previous encounter was two years ago in the final of Acapulco, which Nadal won in straights.
Rafa is just 3-3 on hard courts since the summer, while Taylor is 15-8 on this surface during the same span. As mentioned, this event has been a struggle for Nadal, who is just 20-16 lifetime at the ATP Finals. And just two weeks ago in Paris, Rafa was clearly less than 100%. On an indoor hard court, I give Fritz the slight edge to be victorious in his ATP Finals debut.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Casper Ruud (3) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (5) – Ruud is 48-20 on the year, and reached his first two Major finals (Roland Garros, US Open). Last year at this event, he advanced to the semifinals. Auger-Aliassime is 56-25, and went on a tear this fall, winning three consecutive indoor hard court titles, and 16 straight matches. This is his ATP Finals debut. Casper is 3-2 against Felix at all levels, and 2-1 at tour level. Ruud claimed their only match this season, in FAA’s home country, by a score of 6-1, 6-2.
Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer (3) vs. Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara (6) – Arevalo and Rojer won four titles this year, including Roland Garros. Glasspool and Heliovaara won only one (Hamburg). These teams met a few weeks ago in the final of Stockholm, with Arevalo and Rojer winning in straights.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury (2) vs. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (7) – Ram and Salisbury collected three titles in 2022, including the US Open. Granollers and Zeballos claimed one (Halle). Ram and Salisbury were finalists here a year ago, while Granollers and Zeballos were semifinalists in both of the last two years.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.