Rafael Nadal’s hopes of a first ATP Finals title ended after he crashed out of the tournament in the group stage.
After an opening-round loss to American Taylor Fritz in Turin, he was defeated by Felix Auger-Eliasheim 6-3 6-4.
The 36-year-old’s exit means fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz ends 2022 as world number one.
Norway’s Casper Rudd needed only a one-set win against Fritz on Tuesday to eliminate Nadal.
Ruud, who had already beaten Auger-Aliasime, saw off Fritz 6-3 4-6 7-6 (8-6) in a hard-fought match and now tops the Green Group with two wins each. are
“I mean, I don’t think I forget how to play tennis, how to be strong enough mentally,” Nadal said.
“I just need to regain all the positive feelings and all the confidence and all the strong mindset that I need to be at the level that I want to be.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that level again. But what I have no doubt about is that I’ll die for it.”
Alcaraz, 19, who won the US Open in September, is the youngest player in the world at the end of the year but is not competing in Turin due to injury.
Nadal has now lost four matches in a row going back to the US Open.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram, who successfully defended their US Open title this year, defeated Lloyd Glasspool and his Finnish partner Harry Halivara 7-5 6- in the men’s doubles. Defeated by 4.
On Wednesday, Novak Djokovic, who won his opening match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, will face Andrey Rublev in his second match of the finals, while Tsitsipas will face Daniil Medvedev.
