Rafael Nadal enters 1000th consecutive week in ATP Top-100

King of Clay Rafael Nadal has achieved an incredible feat this week. The Spaniard has reached a mammoth thousand consecutive weeks in the Top 100, an achievement which is the epitome of his much-revered on-court skills and longevity.

Astoundingly, the former World No.1 had first entered the ATP Top 100 list on 21 April 2003, 14 days before the current World No. 1 and 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz was born. It was also eight days before the birth of Holger Rune, the winner of the 2022 Paris Masters.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been in the Top 10 rankings since he first entered on 25 April 2005.

In the second round-robin match, the Spaniard faced another young gun, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and lost 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 57 minutes. This is the former World No. 1's worst streak since 2009. Also, if Casper Ruud wins a set against Taylor Fritz in their round-robin match, Nadal will be eliminated from the tournament and will not get a chance to finish the year as World No.1.

Rafael Nadal dominated by Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP World Tour Finals

Rafael Nadal stunned by Felix Auger-Aliassime

Rafael Nadal has now been defeated in four straight matches for the third time in his career. The 36-year-old missed two months after his early exit from the US Open, and he knew that it would be difficult to get into a groove during the indoor tournaments.

The former World No. 1 only suffered his seventh loss of the season in the 2022 ATP Finals match against Felix Auger-Aliassime, a season in which he won 38 matches and four titles.

Auger-Aliassime stunned the 36-year-old by finishing the game in two sets 6-3, 6-4. After losing his opening match to Casper Ruud of Norway, the 22-year-old gave a much-improved performance in the tournament. It was Auger-Aliassime's first victory in three career meetings against the former World No. 1.

The Canadian maintained control throughout the whole match, recording 31 winners and just 19 unforced errors. The 36-year-old finished with 13 winners and 18 unforced errors, in comparison.

The top-seeded Nadal imposed some early pressure, but Auger-Aliassime battled back from a 15/40 deficit to hold serve in both the first and seventh games of the opening set. The Canadian saved all of his five break opportunities by producing accurate serve and striking the ball cleanly off both wings at crucial times.

With a 16-match winning streak across four tournaments, Auger-Aliassime qualified for the season finale. The Canadian will face Taylor Fritz in his last round-robin match to make it to the semifinals.