Imperturbable, a cannon with the service and pure poise in the few compromised moments that he had, Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3 and 6-4, in one hour and 57 minutes, in the second match of the Group Red of the ATP Finals,
leaving the Spaniard on the brink of the abyss
.
The moment Casper Ruud wins a set against Taylor Fritz, his elimination will be automatic, but even if the American wins in two sets, Nadal's chances of being in the semifinals are remote.
He has lost both of his matches in straight sets and would come out at a clear disadvantage in a hypothetical triple tie
The meeting had an almost definitive character.
After the respective defeats suffered by both, against Fritz and Ruud, they were forced to win so as not to be exposed to other people's results.
None of them had even managed to score a set, a matter that is far from trivial in a tournament that is played by
round robin system
, all against all in two groups of four.
Auger-Aliassime, surpassed by Ruud, showed signs of a certain mental fatigue after the sequence of 16 consecutive victories that Holguer Rune ended in the semifinals of Paris-Bercy.
He came to the meeting, like this, with two consecutive setbacks.
Worse was the case of
Nadal, whose last victory dates back to the third round of the US Open, against Richard Gasquet.
high penalty
Mistakes come at a high price
indoors
.
It is also penalized a lot not to make the options profitable to the rest.
He had four Nadals before the unfortunate eighth game that sent him giving up the first set
.
All the merit there for his opponent, who escaped from each 15-40 in the first game and in the seventh thanks to his courage and intelligence.
The unexpected came next, when leading 40-0, the left-hander committed two consecutive double faults and sent a long backhand.
More accurate in the definition, Auger-Aliassime did convert the first chance to break that he had.
Nadal changed some aspects of his game in relation to his match against Fritz.
He moved closer to the line to serve the first serves, trying to block the Canadian's impact.
This one, however, asserted a capital weapon on these courts.
In any contingency, there was his serve
, either after receiving a
warning
for a delay in his execution, or on the first set point, preceded by an unexpected sound from the public address system that could have disturbed him.
He totaled 15
aces
and neutralized all five of his opponent's break balls.
The Spaniard consented again in the third game of the second set and later managed to save a ball from 1-5 adverse.
Auger-Aliassime, with 32 winners to Nadal's 13
, continued on his way and returned to serve at his opponent's last attempt to dispute his victory.
Toni Nadal saw the match by Fréderic Fontang, in the Canadian's corner, without a single gesture.
Bad times for his nephew, who for the first time since 2009 has four consecutive defeats: Tiafoe, Paul, Fritz and Auger-Aliassime.
Good news for the player who has been advising for a year and a half, who has shown how much he can be capable of.
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Rafael Nadal