"I would be concerned if he was in Mallorca changing diapers but he's in training and he looks good" - Vicky Duval on Rafael Nadal's chances at 2022 ATP Finals
American tennis professional Vicky Duval has weighed in on Rafael Nadal's chances at the 2022 ATP Finals.
After suffering an unexpected loss to Tommy Paul in the second round of the recently concluded Paris Masters, Nadal landed in Turin to compete in the ATP Finals. The southpaw leads the Green Group along with Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz. Stefanos Tsitsipas, on the other hand, leads the Red Group alongside Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic.
In light of this, former World No. 87 Vicky Duval spoke with Jimmy Arias and Rob Simmelkjaer on the Tennis Channel on how the 36-year-old will fare at the year-ending tournament. She believes that Nadal looked "great" and had a "good shot" in his group.
"I think we are really happy to see Rafa in the lineup. I would really be concerned if he was in Mallorca, changing his diapers but we see he is out there practicing and he looks great. He is a routine kind of a guy and and I think he has a good shot in that group of his," Vicky Duval said.
"I don't fight to be No. 1, I will not fight anymore to be No. 1" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal recently stated in an interview that his major goal at this stage of his career was to be competitive and that ending the season as the World No. 1 was not his primary concern.
"Well, to be clear, as I understand, it's an interesting point for you, because you are talking about fighting for be No. 1. I don't fight to be No. 1, you know? I just fight to keep being competitive in every event that I played. Something that I said since long time ago: I will not fight anymore to be No. 1. I did in the past. I achieved that goal a couple of times of my career that I have been very, very happy and proud about achieving that," Nadal expressed.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged that although holding the top spot in the world would be "nice," it is not easy given the number of tournaments he has competed in this season.
"I think I deserve to be there, no, because it's nice to arrive to No. 1, takes some time, and you need to fight for it, and that helps to be even more consistent, no? Today is a different story for me," the Spaniard said.
"I don't know how many events I played, like ten, and I finished eight. Difficult to be No. 1 like this. But happy to be in that position that says when I was playing I was playing well," he added.
The southpaw will kick off his campaign in the ATP Finals against American Taylor Fritz.