Rafael Nadal has vowed to give his all at the upcoming ATP Finals where he will be seeking to win the title for the first time on his 11th attempt.
The world No.2 heads the field in Turin following the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz due to an abdominal issue. The event has been an Achilles heel for Nadal who has finished runner-up twice in 2010 and 2013. Overall, he has won 20 out of 36 matches played at the ATP Finals.
Leading up to this year’s season-ending finale, the 36-year-old has had far from ideal preparation. Since the US Open, he has only played one ATP Tour singles event which was at the Paris Masters where he suffered a surprise loss to Tommy Paul. He has spent some time away from the Tour following the birth of his first child.
“In Paris I hadn’t raced for a long time and I had a little stomach problem,” Nadal told reporters in Turin on Friday. “I was vomiting, at the end of the third set I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t say anything at the time because it didn’t make sense. I was sick for a day and then I was able to train normally”.
This year the king of clay has won two Grand Slam trophies, an ATP 500 and a 250 event. He was also runner-up at the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells to Taylor Fritz. The player who he faces in his opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday.
However, all of those successes occurred during the first six months of 2022. He did also reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon before pulling out of his match against Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury.
“I try my best in every single event. That’s true. Doesn’t matter if I won it [in the past] or not,” he states. “When I enter a tennis tournament, I want to win and I’m going to try my best to achieve that goal. Here I was not able to make it, I was not good enough to make it in the past. So I just accept that and I’m happy to give myself another chance at the age of 36 — something, for me, that was difficult to imagine years ago.”
On paper, Nadal should ease through his group. Out of the quartet, he is the only player to have a positive head-to-head record against all three of his opponents. Besides Fritz, he will also play Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round-robin stages.
So could this be the year where the former world No.1 finally prevails at the ATP Finals? When asked why he is yet to do so, Nadal said it was simply because his competitors outplayed him.
“I have lacked being a better player. Being better on the indoor track. This is the reality of sport,” he admits.
“Historically the indoor courts has been the worst surface for me, but it’s true that in recent years I think I’ve improved a lot on this surface.”
Nadal’s opening match with Fritz at the ATP Finals will take place on Sunday evening.
