The legendary Spaniard was dominated in straight sets for his first match in Turin.
The Masters has never been successful for Rafael Nadal: this Sunday for his entry into the running in Turin, he was overtaken by the American Taylor Fritz who is participating for the first time in his career in this tournament, having benefited from the package of Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard, 2nd in the world, held a set before giving up 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.
«He was aggressive, lined up the huge serves, hit all the balls (…) I had less time than him to do what I wanted on the strikes“Commented Nadal, believing for his part to be a victim of his lack of competition in recent months.
«After all, it’s normal for it to happen like this after the five months I spent“, he estimated.
He dropped out before his semi-final at Wimbledon in July due to an abdominal injury and has since played only three tournaments: Cincinnati (entry elimination), US Open (beaten in the round of 16) and Paris (beaten input).
«But even if it’s normal, that doesn’t prevent me from being very disappointed, that I think I can do better in tournaments“, he added.
Lack of confidence
The Majorcan claims to play much better in training than in competition because, precisely, he lacks competition and the confidence that comes from winning matches.
The man with 22 Grand Slam titles, who has never won the Masters despite two finals, held until the tie-break in the first set, but he immediately gave his opponent the advantage in the deciding game by committing a double fault and never returned.
In the second set, Fritz made the break twice. The second, he still benefited from a double fault from Nadal, on the fifth break point of the game, to break away 5-1.
In the process, the American concluded on his face-off, without having had to defend the slightest break point in the whole match.
«I did a decent first set, but in the second I’m very disappointed with the second break. The first, it’s fine, it can happen, but the second, no“Lamented Nadal.
The 36-year-old Spaniard is now back to the wall and will have to beat his two other opponents in the Green group, Casper Ruud (4th) and Félix Auger-Aliassime (6th), if he wants to go to the semi-finals.
