Nadal succumbs to Tommy Paul in Paris Bercy

Rafa Nadal says goodbye quickly at the Masters 1000 in Paris Bercy after falling in three sets against the American Tommy Paul (3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1) in their duel for the second round of the French competition.

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tournament results

Rafael Nadal debuted on Wednesday Paris Bercy. The Spaniard faced this challenge wanting to compete at his highest level and gain confidence ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals. It is a tournament that Rafa resists and he did not have an easy debut against the American Tommy Paul. In addition, Nadal had not competed since the US Open. Both had been measured in Acapulco this season and Nadal won on the fast track.

Paul signs the hit against Rafa

Nadal started with the initiative on the scoreboard, but Paul in the third game got a break showing that he had started very inspired. Great reaction from Rafa Nadal who withstood the initial attacks of the American and after two consecutive games he took the reins again with the 3-2. From that moment on, Rafa was showing his most solid tennis and making Paul desperate, who he saw as the Spaniard, thanks to another break, he was left with 5-3 and the service to close the first round. Rafa went further and began to find winning shots. Finally without major problems 6-3 after a bad start he started taking a first set in which he was seen at a high level.

Rafa seemed to get the match back on track in the second set thanks to a break in the third game. Paul came out even more aggressive and started finding those winners and putting pressure on his opponent. Rafa watched as his opponent turned the scoreboard around. Nadal, going down in the locker, felt pressured and Tommy Paul was getting more and more comfortable. One of the key moments came in the tenth game when Rafa had to deal with a set point down. The Spaniard saved her but they finally went to a tie break. In the sudden death the errors of the Balearic condemned him and finally the American ends up forcing the definitive partial.

Capitalizing on that big pull from the end of the previous set, Paul found a break early in the third set, leading 2-0 early on. Rafa was encouraged to play the last cards in the return, but he could not overcome the solidity of a Tommy very focused on playing short points and outperforming the Spaniard in ball speed. After saving a break ball, the North American signed a new break to get 4-1 numerically and be on the verge of victory. Forcing some fundamental errors from Nadal, Tommy Paul sealed his victory with an upset 6-1 final..