Masters Turin 2022 – Félix Auger-Aliassime beats Rafael Nadal in straight sets to revive

Rafael Nadal is on the precipice in this Masters. Beaten again in two sets, this time by Félix Auger-Aliassime (6-3, 6-4 in 1h56), the Spaniard must first count on a victory for Taylor Fritz against Casper Ruud to avoid being eliminated from this Tuesday evening before hoping for a miracle on the last day of the group stage. For his first participation in the Masters tournament, the Canadian won his first match in the competition and will play his place in the semi-finals against Taylor Fritz.

For the first time since 2009, the Spaniard lost his first two Masters matches. Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydenko had been Nadal’s executioners. He had also finished this edition with a third defeat against Novak Djokovic. Lacking rhythm at the end of the season, the Majorcan showed his best in the game. But it was only intermittently and we never felt the man with 22 Grand Slams capable of making Auger-Aliassime doubt lastingly.

Yet it was he who got the first break points of the match from the first game then at 3-3. At 15/40 twice, he was too wait-and-see in the exchange, leaving the Canadian to come back up. Intractable behind his first ball (95% of points won in the first set, 81% over the whole match), the sixth in the world extinguished any adverse inclination to come back to score. As soon as he was in danger on his face-off at 30/30 or 40/40, Auger-Aliassime chained aces (15 in total) or winning services.

Nadal cracked on serve

If he did not sink in the second set as against Fritz on Sunday, Nadal missed two service games. Enough to lose his meetings in straight sets. On the first at 4/3 against him, he led 40/0 before committing two double faults and three unforced errors. In the process, Auger-Aliassime concluded this set in an authoritative manner (6-3, 53 minutes). On the second, the Mallorcan still led 40/15. A double fault followed, then a gross direct fault with a mid-court forehand to offer a break point, and finally, a completely missed volley on a return that seemed more likely to fall out of the field than into it.

2/1 for the Canadian who would keep this advantage until the end despite a fifth and last break point to save two games later. Not as flamboyant in the game as during his 16 consecutive victories, Auger-Aliassime continues to release the tension linked to a first participation in the last tournament of the year. A palpable tension on both sides as Nadal seeks rhythm and sensation and where the strikes have not always been released at full power. In that game, Toni Nadal’s protege did better (32 winners to 13) and finds himself the best placed of the two to go to the semi-finals.