Europe 1 with AFP 00:10, November 16, 2022

Without being a surprise, it is still a disappointment: Rafael Nadal, short of competition since July, suffered a second defeat in as many matches at the Turin Masters on Tuesday.

He therefore leaves the Masters prematurely, leaving his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz on the seat of world number 1.

The indoor tournaments at the end of the season have never been successful for him and the Masters which bring together the eight best players of the season each year will probably remain the only big hole in his immense record.

Rafael Nadal will once again not be crowned at the ATP Masters.

Eighteen editions have been played since 2005, when he could have participated for the first time.

But that year, as in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018, he gave up due to injury.

Otherwise, he lost two finals (2010 and 2013), reached the semi-finals four times and five times he failed to get out of the pools.

In 2021, he was not qualified.

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Second loss

After losing in two sets against Taylor Fritz (9th in the world) on Sunday, the Spaniard was again beaten without managing to take a single set from Félix Auger-Aliassime.

So much so that by winning the first set of his match against Fritz in the evening, Casper Ruud sealed Nadal's elimination from the Green group.

Consequently, Alcaraz (withdrawal due to injury before the start of the Masters), who at 19 had become the youngest world number 1 since the ATP rankings existed (1973), retains his place as leader in the rankings and also becomes the youngest number 1 at the end of the year.

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Auger-Aliassime Nadal's new pet peeve?

Auger-Aliassime won for the first time against the Spaniard in three games, including the round of 16 at Roland-Garros, where he pushed the holder of 14 titles on Parisian clay to a fifth set.

The Canadian assured that he had received "no secrets" about Nadal from his uncle and historic coach Toni, who is now part of his staff.

Nadal also recorded a fourth defeat in a row (after those in the round of 16 at the US Open and as soon as he entered the running in Paris, as well as in Turin), which had not happened to him since November 2009.