Premiere in Turin for the ATP Finals, Nadal vs. Fritz

The top 8 tournament of the season makes its debut with the Green Group matchups: Ruud-Aliassime and Nadal-Fritz, with the legendary Spaniard heading towards the quest for the first title of his career at the ATP Finals and his return to No. 1 in the World ranking begins.

Should the 36-year-old from Mallorca manage to finish the group stage unbeaten and qualify for the final, he will top the annual rankings for the sixth time and cap a fantastic season with two Grand Slams in Melbourne and Paris.

Nadal is set to take on Taylor Fritz on Sunday night (10:00pm / Cosmote Sport 6HD), taking the place of the injured Carlos Alcarath and enjoying the best year of his career.

This is the fourth meeting between the two men on the tour, with the Spaniard leading 2-1. Fritz beat Nadal in the Indian Wells Masters final that year to win his first ATP 1000 career, while Rafa retaliated in the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite failing to face Kyrgios in the semifinals.

In general, Nadal was also struggling with various injury problems this year, which prevented him from participating in many tournaments in the second half of the season. He has appeared in just three events since Wimbledon, with two opening-round losses in Cincinnati (Zorić) and Paris (Paul) and a fourth-round entry at the US Open (Tiafoe).

“I’m happy because I’ve been able to train and I’m looking forward to playing well. If I didn’t think I had a chance to fight for the trophy, I wouldn’t be here. I think I have a chance. ” ” said Nadal before taking office in Turin.

In the first match of the day, Kasper Ruud and Felix Auxerre Aliasim (16:00 / Cosmote Sport 6HD) play, with the Norwegian competing at the top event for the second time in a row and the 22-year-old Canadian making his ATP Finals debut.

Last year Rud reached the semi-finals of the indoor event and what followed was an excellent year for the 24-year-old Norwegian, making him a finalist in two Grand Slams (Roland Garros, US Open) and reaching No. 2 in the world rankings.

Rudd started at No. 4 in the world and has lost form over the past two months as he has a 3-4 record after the US Open final, with two of the three wins coming in the Laver Cup and Davis Cup.

Aliasim, on the other hand, is one of the hottest tennis players in the world right now, having had a dream indoor season with three consecutive titles (Florence, Antwerp and Basel) while reaching the semi-finals of the Paris Masters, where he was defeated by the also in-form Holger Run.

Rudd defeated Aliasim 2-1, beating the Canadian the only time they met at the Canadian Masters that year.

“I remember watching the ATP Finals as a teenager. I remember wanting to play this tournament so badly. Now I’m here and I feel very fulfilled. It’s a really special feeling and I hope it was Not the last time.” Aliasim said about his first tournament appearance.

Source: Tennis24