ATP Finals 2022: Rafael Nadal's poor run of form continues, falls to Taylor Fritz in opener in straight sets

Rafael Nadal's poor run of form in the final stretch of the 2022 season continued on Sunday, as the World No. 2 fell in straight sets to Taylor Fritz in his opener at the ATP Finals.

Seeded first, the Spaniard was expected to go through to the knockouts without much of a hiccup and was a massive favorite coming into the contest against the American. However, it was Fritz who prevailed in Turin, beating the 22-time Grand Slam champion 7-6(3), 6-1.

It was a thoroughly uncharacteristic performance from the former World No. 1 on the night, as he racked up the errors as the encounter progressed. In the end, Fritz wrapped up the contest with 22 winners and 15 unforced errors to his name, as compared to 16 winners and 28 unforced errors for the Mallorcan.

After a hard-fought first set that saw Fritz take the lead in the tiebreaker, the second set was a case of the 36-year-old falling apart like a house of cards, getting his serve broken twice in the process.

Overall, Nadal served three double faults, with two of them coming in the final service game that he lost. Comparatively, Fritz had eight aces under his racquet and only one double fault to complain about.

Regardless of the Spaniard's struggles, Taylor Fritz had a performance to be proud of, not facing a single break point throughout the match. In contrast, his opponent faced nine, saving all but two of them.

The World No. 9's dominance was further proved by the fact that he won 13 points more than the top seed, winning 70 as compared to Nadal's 57. In terms of serve, the 22-time Grand Slam champion had a game to forget, winning only 73% (38/52) of his first serve points and 41% (7/17) of his second serve points.

Fritz, on the other hand, won 80% (39/49) of his first serve points and 78% (7/9) of his second serve points. With the win, the 25-year-old also recorded his first career win over a Top-2 opponent.

Rafael Nadal falls to last place in Green Group with Taylor Fritz loss

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As a result of the loss against Taylor Fritz, Rafael Nadal slipped to last place in the Green Group in the 2022 ATP Finals at the end of the first round of matches. Just ahead of him is Felix Auger-Aliassime, who also lost to Casper Ruud in his opener but managed to win 10 games.

With a 13-10 game win/loss ratio, Ruud now holds second spot, while Fritz has become the group leader thanks to his 13-8 game win/loss record. The Spaniard now faces an uphill task in the remaining two matches, as he will have to score big wins in both to book a place in the knockouts.