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The 2022 season was memorable for Rafael Nadal, both on and off the court. He notched up his best ever start to an ATP tour season, winning his first 20 matches. Seven of those came at the Australian Open, a tournament that he managed to win after a gap of 13 years.
The summer witnessed the Spaniard extending the men's record of Slam wins to 22 with his astounding 14th French Open crown. While his second half of the season was mired in multiple injury blows and early defeats, it was personally special as he became the father of an adorable baby boy.
The former World No. 1 ultimately finished the season with a 39-8 win-loss record, which included four titles. His eight defeats were against seven players, who are as follows:
#1 Carlos Alcaraz
A rusty Rafael Nadal ran into the red-hot Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters.
This was the 36-year-old's first tournament since recovering from a stress fracture in his ribs and he wasn't in the best shape possible. It was exposed by the newest sensation on the tour in Alcaraz, who had conquered the Miami Masters and the Barcelona crown in the run-up to the event at La Caja Magica.
It was their second meeting in two months. The two had earlier squared off in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters, where the older Spaniard edged his junior compatriot in three sets.
However, this time Alcaraz came prepared. The 19-year-old showed tremendous maturity to secure a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win over the five-time champion.
This was the teen's first-ever win over the legend. The fact that it came a year after he managed to win just three games in a second-round defeat to Nadal at the same venue made his triumph all the more incredible.
#2 Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz is the only player to have beaten Rafael Nadal twice this year. The American's first win came at the Indian Wells Masters final, where he snapped the Spaniard's incredible 20-match winning streak.
Nadal was pretty much irrepressible coming into the tournament with title wins at the Melbourne Summer Set 1, Australian Open and Acapulco. At the BNP Paribas Open, too, he looked to be maintaining his form. He swatted away the likes of Sebastian Korda, Dan Evans, Reilly Opelka, and Nick Kyrgios to reach the last four.
The Mallorcan then downed teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz in a three-set tussle but suffered a stress fracture in his ribs on his way to the win. In the final, a spirited Fritz smashed his way past Nadal 6-3, 7-6 (5) to clinch his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.
The southpaw avenged that defeat on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon with a grueling five-set win. However, Fritz had the last laugh in their most recent encounter at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin when he beat Nadal 7-6 (3), 6-1 in their first round-robin match.
#3 Felix Auger-Aliassime
In what was a disastrous start for two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal at the ATP Finals this year, he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime two days after being beaten by Taylor Fritz.
The young Canadian was in a rich vein of form coming into the Turin event, having won three of his previous four tournaments. Although he lost his ATP Finals opener to Casper Ruud, he bounced back in sterling fashion against Nadal in his second match of the tournament.
The World No. 6 hardly gave the 22-time Major winner any time to settle down, inflicting a 6-3, 6-4 defeat on him. It marked the first instance of the Mallorcan losing four ATP matches in a row since 2009.
#4 Denis Shapovalov
Following a stress fracture in his ribs, Rafael Nadal's start to his beloved clay season wasn't the greatest. His first tournament on the red dirt, the Madrid Masters, saw him bow out in the quarterfinals.
He then arrived in Rome looking to get some much-needed wins under his belt ahead of the French Open. However, the 10-time champion's sojourn in the Italian capital was short-lived.
Struggling with an apparent foot injury, the Spaniard's title defense ended in a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to 13th seed Denis Shapovalov in the Round of 16. Interestingly, the Canadian's win came a year after squandering match points against Rafael Nadal at the same stage in Rome.
#5 Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe became the first man to beat Rafael Nadal at a Slam in 2022 when he stopped the southpaw in the Round of 16.
The Spaniard came into the final Major of the year after winning the Australian Open and the French Open. At Wimbledon, an abdominal injury forced him to give a walkover to Nick Kyrgios ahead of their semifinal bout.
Nadal beat the likes of Rinky Hijikata, Fabio Fognini and Richard Gasquet to start his quest for a fifth title in New York. However, he found it difficult to overcome home hope Frances Tiafoe, who played lights out in the fourth round.
Although the American conceded a set, his consistent big-serving and aggression ultimately condemned the former champion to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat.
Needless to say, this was the biggest-ever win for Tiafoe, then ranked 26th. It was also the first time he had advanced to the quarterfinals of his home Slam.
#6 Tommy Paul
Rafael Nadal's first match as a father didn't go well. Two months after a fourth-round defeat at the US Open, his return to action at the Paris Masters was cut short by Tommy Paul.
The former Bercy runner-up started off their second-round clash on a positive note, winning the first set 6-3. However, Paul rebounded strongly to win the second set in a tie-break after dropping serve in the third game.
In the decider, Nadal had no answer as the American ran away to a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory for the biggest scalp of his career.
The result was a major blow to Nadal's chances of finishing the year as the World No. 1.
#7 Borna Coric
Newly crowned ATP Comeback Player of the Year Borna Coric faced Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters when he was ranked 152nd. A shoulder surgery had put Coric on the sidelines from March last year to this year, triggering a freefall in the rankings.
However, seeing the Spanish great on the opposite side of the net brought the best out of him. The Croat had already beaten the southpaw in two of their preceding four meetings.
Nadal came into this tournament following an abdominal injury and evidently wasn't at his sharpest. Coric took advantage of it to soar to a 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-3 victory. It was the former World No. 12's 10th career win over a top-5 player.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
