Rafael Nadal wrapped up his ATP Finals campaign with a 7-5 7-5 victory over Casper Ruud on Thursday.

The Spanish great had already failed to make the last four after suffering defeat in his first two matches in Turin, but he finished his year in style courtesy of a hard-fought win over Ruud.

Nadal held firm when two break points down at 4-4, before breaking to love to take the opening set.

He sealed victory in the 12th game of the second set, powering a cross-court backhand winner to move 15-40 ahead and set the stage for a win that saw him end the year with a 39-8 tour-level record.

"I can't ask for more," Nadal said. "2022 has had a tough six months, two Grand Slams, and finishing the year in a high spot in the rankings. So, I can't complain at all. At my age, to be able to achieve and be competitive means a lot for me.

"For 2023, just let's try to have the right preparation, work the proper way and start the season with the right energy, the right attitude, to reach the level that I need to be competitive from the beginning. Let's try it, I am excited about it."

Ruud had already progressed to the semi-finals in Italy for a second consecutive year.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal - 16/1
Ruud - 4/0

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal - 38/16
​Ruud - 19/18

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal - 2/3
​Ruud - 0/2

Novak Djokovic boosted his hopes of claiming a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title by clinching a semi-final spot with a 6-4 6-1 win over Andrey Rublev in Turin.

Having overcome Stefanos Tsitsipas in his opening red group match, Djokovic endured spells of pressure from the sixth seed throughout Wednesday's opening set before clinching the all-important break in the 10th game.

The 21-time grand slam winner found the going far easier in the second set, breaking Rublev's serve at the first opportunity before repeating the trick in the sixth game.

Djokovic's backhand was particularly impressive as he dominated proceedings from the baseline, while the Serbian won 94 per cent of points behind his first serve and did not give up a single break point during the match.

The 35-year-old only committed six unforced errors en route to his 68-minute victory, as he joined Casper Ruud in sealing a place in the final four in Turin. 

Djokovic has now won his opening two group matches in four of his last five campaigns at the ATP Finals, and he appears the strong favourite to equal Roger Federer's record of six titles at the competition.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Djokovic – 12/0
Rublev – 10/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic – 19/6
Rublev – 18/17

BREAK POINTS WON

Djokovic – 3/4
Rublev – 0/0

Novak Djokovic has confirmed he will be free to play in the 2023 Australian Open after his three-year ban from entering the country was overturned.

Djokovic was at the centre of huge controversy in January following his attempts to play in Melbourne despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19.

The 21-time grand slam winner was eventually deported after having his visa cancelled on public health grounds. 

He was initially allowed to enter the country in spite of his vaccine status, amid widespread furore over his apparent flaunting of strict regulations.

His deportation resulted in an automatic three-year ban. However, with the vaccine mandate that was in place earlier this year no longer a barrier for Djokovic, the decision has been made by immigration minister Andrew Giles to hand him a visa.

Speaking at the ATP Finals in Turin on Wednesday, Djokovic confirmed the decision, saying: "Well, of course, I was very happy to receive the news yesterday.

"It was a relief, obviously, knowing what I and people closest to me in my life have been through this year with what happened in Australia and post-Australia. I could not receive better news for sure – during this tournament as well."

Djokovic has won the Australian Open singles title nine times in his career, last doing so in 2021 when he beat Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Casper Ruud secured his place in the last four of the ATP Finals and ensured Carlos Alcaraz will be the year-ending world number one by beating Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.

Ruud made it two wins out of two in the Green Group to seal his semi-final spot with a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (8-6) defeat of Fritz in Turin.

The third seed eliminated Rafael Nadal when he won the first set and in doing so guaranteed that injured 19-year-old Alcaraz will be the youngest player to be at the top of the ATP rankings at the end of a year.

Ruud stormed into a 3-0 lead and did not allow Fritz a way back into the first set, but the American broke for the first time to level the match when his opponent was serving to stay in the second.

The battling Fritz fended off two break points in the fifth game of the deciding set and saved two match points as he fought back from 5-1 down in the tie-break to draw level at 6-6.

Norwegian Ruud was not to be denied, though, becoming the first player to reach the semi-finals when eighth seed Fritz drilled a forehand long at the Palbata Alpitour.

Fritz will do battle with Felix Auger-Aliassime on Thursday for a place in the last four.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Ruud - 14/3
Fritz - 15/0

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Ruud - 36/4
Fritz  - 36/1

BREAK POINTS WON

Ruud - 1/5
Auger-Aliassime - 1/4

Rafael Nadal is not certain he will return to his very best form and full fitness in 2023 – but he has no doubt he will give it his very best shot.

The veteran Spaniard went down 6-3 6-4 to Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday at the ATP Finals, his second defeat in the round-robin group stage and a fourth consecutive loss overall.

This season began in stunning style for Nadal as he won the Australian Open and followed that with a 14th French Open title, taking his tally of grand slams to 22 - a record haul for a male singles player.

However, Nadal has a serious ongoing foot problem, and the 36-year-old had to withdraw from Wimbledon prior to a semi-final against Nick Kyrgios after suffering a torn abdomen.

Injuries have prevented him playing a full season, and he was clearly not at his best against Auger-Aliassime, who has Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, on his coaching team.

Asked whether he will take an optimistic or doubtful approach into next season, Nadal said: "You can be both ways. You can be optimistic and have doubts. Why not?

"For me the doubts, as I said plenty of times, are very good in this world. People who don't have doubts, it is probably because they are too arrogant, from my point of view.

"If you are not optimistic or positive, it's impossible that things are going to go the proper way. That's my point of view and that's my approach."

He will hope to make a strong start to the new campaign in Australia, and will put in the work to give himself every chance of showing up in shape to win again.

"I just need to recover all these positive feelings and all this confidence and all this strong mentality that I need to be at the level that I want to be," Nadal said.

"And I don't know if I'm going to reach that level again. But what I don't have any doubt about is that I'm going to die for it."

He will round off his round-robin campaign against Casper Ruud in Turin on Thursday, facing the young Norwegian he crushed in the French Open final.

Once he returns to his Mallorca home, Nadal can look at what lies ahead.

"What can happen in Australia? I don't know. It's a month and a half away," Nadal said.

"What can I do to give myself a positive chance to have a good season next year? As always, be humble enough to accept that I have a challenge in front, that the last six months have been very difficult for me.

"I need to work more and I need to recover things that I lost because I was not able to practice the proper way, I was not able to compete the proper way.

"What I have to do now is come back, work hard, stay positive every single day, accept the challenge, accept that I am going to need to suffer a little bit more."

Rafael Nadal lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime for the first time as his poor run of results continued at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he looks set for a group-stage exit.

In the Green Group, Auger-Aliassime ran out a 6-3 6-4 winner over the 22-time grand slam champion, whose uncle Toni Nadal is on his opponent's coaching team.

Nadal came to Italy with a chance to snatch the year-end number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz but needed to win this tournament, and defeats to Taylor Fritz and now Auger-Aliassime have almost quashed that prospect.

On Tuesday, the 36-year-old suffered a fourth successive singles defeat, which began with a US Open last-16 exit to Frances Tiafoe and was followed at the Paris Masters by a loss to Tommy Paul.

Auger-Aliassime was beaten in his opening match by Casper Ruud, but he came from 40-0 behind to break for a 5-3 lead in the opener of this contest, before serving out for the set comfortably enough. A break early in the second set put him on course to wrap up the match, with Nadal struggling to make an impact.

This was just a third meeting between Nadal and Auger-Aliassime on the ATP Tour, with Nadal winning both previous contests, including an epic five-set contest in the French Open fourth round in May.

The result this time, however, means Nadal has lost consecutive matches in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals for the first time since 2011. With a 0-2 record, his only remaining hope of progress hinged on Ruud losing to Fritz later on Tuesday, which would offer Nadal a slim hope going into his final Green Group match against Ruud.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Auger-Aliassime - 15/2
Nadal - 1/4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Auger-Aliassime - 32/2
​Nadal - 13/4

BREAK POINTS WON

Auger-Aliassime - 2/4
​Nadal - 0/5

Novak Djokovic begun his ATP Finals campaign with a straight set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Turin, ending the Greek's hopes of finishing the year ranked number one.

The five-time champion emerged as a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victor to go top of the Red Group above Andrey Rublev, the Russian having defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev earlier on Monday.

Tsitsipas needed to win the title in Turin without losing in order to dethrone the injured Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings, but now cannot catch the Spaniard.

Djokovic did not face a break point as he served superbly in the opening set, not allowing the second seed a look-in after breaking in the first game of the match.

Tsitsipas responded well in the second set, firing down seven aces and winning 88 per cent of points behind his first serve, but seventh seed Djokovic stood firm to take the set to a tie-break.

A battling Tsitsipas fought back from 5-1 down to 5-4 in the breaker, but Djokovic did not falter, coming up with a powerful serve that his opponent was unable to return to make a winning start in his quest for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Tsitsipas - 9/0

Djokovic - 3/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Tsitsipas - 24/0

Djokovic - 33/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Tsitsipas - 0/1

Djokovic - 1/2

Andrey Rublev opened his ATP Finals campaign with a gripping 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 7-6 (9-7) success over compatriot Daniil Medvedev in Turin.

The sixth seed came from behind to beat his fellow Russian in a match lasting over two and a half hours to put himself top of the Red Group, with the pool's other two players, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, playing later on Monday.

Rublev got off to a fast start, securing a break to put himself 4-1 up in the first set. However, Medvedev saw off two set points to take it to a tie-break, before fending off five more set points on his way to taking an extraordinary opener.

World number seven Rublev hit back with two breaks in a strong second set to level the match, Medvedev not helping himself with six double faults.

Medvedev, the fourth seed, cut down the errors in a tight final set that did not see a solitary break of serve as a tie-break was required to settle an absorbing contest.

But after a remarkable final stand from Medvedev that saw him save four match points, Rublev finally got over the line make a winning start.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Medvedev - 24/8

Rublev - 9/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Medvedev - 46/26

Rublev - 38/24

BREAK POINTS WON

Medvedev - 1/2

Rublev - 3/9

Taylor Fritz stunned Rafael Nadal on his ATP Finals debut on Sunday, producing a powerful display to beat the 22-time grand slam winner 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in the duo's group-stage opener.

The American put Nadal under pressure from the off in Turin, failing to give up a single break point as he dominated on his own serve to take the 36-year-old to a tie-break in the opening set.

Nadal allowed Fritz to seize the initiative with a double fault at the start of that tie-break, and the American grasped his opportunity by clinching the first set with a big forehand winner.

The top seed's struggles continued into the second set as Fritz, moving well and dictating proceedings from the baseline, claimed the match's first break four games in before going 5-1 up by repeating the trick in a back-and-forth sixth game.

Fritz then wrapped up the win with another dominant display of serving, clinching his second victory over Nadal and denting the Spaniard's bid to win a title that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career.

Having been beaten by Tommy Paul at the Paris Masters and Frances Tiafoe at the US Open, Nadal has now suffered three consecutive defeats, and he must bounce back when he faces Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal – 7/4
Fritz – 8/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal – 18/4
Fritz – 23/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal – 0/0
Fritz – 2/9

Casper Ruud opened his ATP Finals campaign with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 triumph over Felix Auger-Aliassime in Turin.

The victory put Ruud top of the Green Group, with the pool's two other players, Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz, set to face off later on Sunday.

A tight first set saw each game go to serve as it went all the way to a tie-break, with Ruud – this year's beaten US Open finalist – finding a crucial break at 3-2 up, giving him the momentum to nose ahead.

They continued to be closely matched in the second set too, though Ruud again managed to break Auger-Aliassime at a critical juncture in the match.

With the set tied at three apiece, ATP Finals debutant Auger-Aliassime double-faulted at 40-15 down on his own serve to put Ruud within two games of victory.

The world number four took full advantage, who is making his second appearance in the season-ending tournament, kicking on to secure a straight-sets success without offering a single break point to begin his tournament in impressive fashion.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Ruud - 5/1

Auger-Aliassime - 14/3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Ruud - 19/5

Auger-Aliassime - 30/9

BREAK POINTS WON

Ruud - 1/1

Auger-Aliassime - 0/0

Brandon Nakashima became the first American winner of the ATP Next Gen Finals with a straight-sets victory over Jiri Lehecka on Saturday.

The 21-year-old was beaten by Sebastian Korda in last year's semi-finals, but he more than made amends by winning all five matches in Milan en route to the title.

Lehecka was also defeated in straight sets by Nakashima in the group stage, but he broke his opponent in the opening game of the final at the Allianz Cloud.

Nakashima recovered from 3-1 down in a first set that went the distance and managed to get over the line after a 5-0 lead in the tie-break was reduced to 6-5.

Czech youngster Lehecka wasted a glorious chance to level up the contest when letting two set points pass him by in the second-set tie-break, which Nakashima went on to win.

The match was over inside 80 minutes as Nakashima, who struck 21 winners to Lehecka's 27, served out the final set to win 4-3 (7-5) 4-3 (8-6) 4-2.

"I am super happy right now," Nakashima said at his on-court interview. "It was a great tournament, this whole week. 

"This final was another tough match. Just a few points that could have gone either way. I am happy with my level today. It's a good way to finish off the year.

"It was a final so there are going to be some pressure moments. There were some nerves at the beginning, but I'm happy I was able to turn it around quickly and close it out."

Rafael Nadal does not need extra motivation to win the ATP Finals for the first time in his legendary career, while Novak Djokovic is looking for a "perfect ending" to 2022 in Turin.

Spanish great Nadal has won 22 singles grand slam titles, a record in the men's game, but has surprisingly never been crowned champion at the season-ending event.

Nadal made a personal-best start to 2022, winning 20 straight matches and lifting the Australian Open title.

However, he has only played once since the US Open due to becoming a father for the first time and recuperating from injuries.

Still, at the age of 36, Nadal is grateful to still be getting a crack at finally ticking off the ATP Finals on his impressive list of accomplishments.

"I try my best in every single event. That's true. Doesn't matter if I won it [in the past] or not," Nadal, a two-time runner-up, said at an ATP media day prior to the tournament in Turin.

"When I enter a tennis tournament, I want to win and I'm going to try my best to achieve that goal. Here I was not able to make it, I was not good enough to make it in the past.

"So I just accept that and I'm happy to give myself another chance at the age of 36 — something, for me, that was difficult to imagine years ago.

"Of course it's going to be a challenge, but I hope I will be ready to give myself a chance. That's what I am looking for, just practising as good as possible with the right attitude and just trying to be ready for the action that's going to start on Sunday."

Djokovic's season has been a complicated one. Absent from the Australian and US Opens due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19, the Serbian great did triumph at Wimbledon, but there were no ranking points on offer at SW19.

He has slipped to eighth in the rankings as a result but does have four titles to his name in 2022 and Djokovic is eyeing a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title and first since 2015.

"It would be a perfect ending," Djokovic said." The cherry on the cake, for sure, but it's a long way. It's a long week.

"You've got to play the best players in the world. You have to play more or less everyone in this tournament at least once, so I look forward to it.

"I've had experience in this tournament, in this format, many times and hopefully that can serve me in a good way."

In recent years, the notable absentee at the ATP Finals has been Roger Federer, with his last appearance in the tournament coming in 2019.

The lack of Federer at the showpiece event will be felt even more apparent this year after the Swiss maestro retired from tennis in September, though it is the absence of a player at the other end of his career that is more relevant in Turin.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz had to withdraw from the tournament after suffering an abdominal tear, which means his status at the top of the men's game is in jeopardy.

Rafael Nadal has spoken well of his 19-year-old compatriot in the past, but is not ready to pass the torch just yet, and could even topple Alcaraz from his number one spot.

The 22-time grand slam champion has finished as year-end number one five times previously, most recently in 2019. Should he accomplish the feat again this year it would put him in joint-second for most year-end finishes at the top of the ATP Rankings (since 1973) along with Pete Sampras (six).

In order to do so, Nadal will need to win the tournament, something he has never done before.

However, he comes into his 11th appearance in good form, and has won 32 per cent of his return games in 2022, the highest percentage by any player this year, and has converted 43.8 per cent of his break points in 2022, the third best amongst all players.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, meanwhile, is the other competitor who can knock Alcaraz off top spot, though his task to do so is a little more complicated as he needs to win every match on the way to the title in Turin. 

No player has played more matches in 2022 than Tsitsipas (80), 21 on clay, 11 on grass and 48 on hard courts; he has won 59 of them and lost 21.

Should neither man win at the Pala Alpitour, Alcaraz will breathe a sigh of relief and earn his first year-end number one finish, having taken his place after winning the US Open in September.

Nadal has been drawn into the Green Group with Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz, while Tsitsipas will be in the Red Group alongside Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic can equal Federer record

One man surprisingly unable to end the year as number one is Djokovic, despite having done so on more occasions than anyone else in history (seven).

However, the 21-time grand slam champion can still make his mark in Italy.

Djokovic has had an up-and-down year, only playing in two of the four grand slams due to his vaccination status, though he was able to win Wimbledon for the seventh time, beating Nick Kyrgios in the final.

Should the Serbian go all the way and lift what would be his sixth ATP Finals title, he will go level with Federer for most victories since the tournament began in 1970.

Among the eight participating players in this year's tournament, Djokovic has won 87 per cent of his service games in 2022, the best percentage among these players and the sixth overall.

It would be quite the ending to the year for Djokovic, who finds himself in the unusual position of sitting eighth in the world rankings, and at the age of 35, who knows how many more appearances he will make at the event?

Strong field promises fireworks

As is the intent of the format, the ATP Finals should be a tightly-contested few days as the best men's players in the world come together.

Ruud will be looking to add to an already impressive season, having reached two grand slam finals and winning three tour-level titles, while Fritz is aiming to carry on the fine lineage of American players to have won the tournament.

Players from the United States have won the ATP finals 16 times, with Sampras and Ivan Lendl winning five of them each. It is the most by any country and 10 more than next best Switzerland (six, all Federer) and Germany (also six, three wins for Boris Becker, one for Michael Stich and two for last year's champion, Alexander Zverev).

Auger-Aliassime has had a strong end to the year, beating Djokovic at the Laver Cup before winning three titles in as many weeks in Florence, Antwerp and Basel.

Only John Isner (895) has recorded more aces in 2022 than Auger-Aliassime, who has registered 852 in total, averaging 10.9 per match.

"All the players who participate [at the ATP Finals], I have already faced them, I have beaten them," the Canadian recently said. "So for me, there's no reason why I can't show up to this tournament with the aim of winning it."

Medvedev was world number one as recently as September but enters this tournament in fifth, though he did win the Vienna ATP 500 event last month, while his first opponent in Turin, Rublev, enters with a 2022 record of 49-18, looking for his second straight 50-win season.

Whoever comes out on top at this year's ATP Finals, the race for supremacy in 2023 promises to be as delightfully chaotic.

Jack Draper was no match for Brandon Nakashima, who maintained his perfect record at the ATP Next Gen Finals to set up a showdown with Jiri Lehecka.

Nakashima won all of his group matches in Milan and, having lost at the semi-final stage in 2021, he made no mistake this time around with a 4-6 (8-6) 1-4 4-2 4-3 (7-5) victory.

The 21-year-old world number 49 controlled much of Friday's second semi-final, though he did have to rally from 5-2 down in the final set tie-break.

Nakashima's reward for beating Britain's Draper is a meeting with Lehecka, who fell foul of the American in straight sets in the group stage.

Lehecka came through in second place in his pool and the Czech turned in a dominant display against Dominic Stricker in the first semi-final, winning 4-1 4-3 (7-4) 2-4 4-1.

Seeded fifth, one behind Nakashima, Lehecka has reached his first ATP Tour-level final.

"Today I think everything went the way I wanted," Lehecka said. "Me and my team spoke about this match yesterday and today and the plan was just to relax on the court and enjoy it as much as I can.

"Dominic was playing incredible here, so I am very happy with my win."

Jack Draper comfortably defeated home favourite Lorenzo Musetti 4-1 4-0 4-3 (7-3) in Milan to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Next Gen Finals.

Draper only dropped one game in romping to a two-set lead, and though the world number 23 put up more of a fight in the third, his British opponent secured victory and his place in the final four with his second match point.

Brandon Nakashima awaits Draper in the next round, after the American made it three from three by beating Francesco Passaro in straight sets.

A tight opener saw Nakashima find three crucial breaks of serve to take the tie-break, but Passaro could not keep up the pressure and the world number 49 took over to clinch a 4-3 (7-4) 4-2 4-1 triumph.

Matteo Arnaldi joined his countrymen Musetti and Passaro in crashing out at the group-stage, though Jiri Lehecka needed two tie-breaks to see him off 4-3 (7-5) 4-1 4-3 (7-4).

Lehecka and Arnaldi combined to save 11 of 12 break points outside of tie-breaks, but Lehecka's strong second set helped him set up a semi-final encounter with Dominic Stricker.

Stricker reached the final four by cruising past Chun Hsin Tseng 4-2 4-1 4-2 to secure his third straight win at the competition.

The Swiss 20-year-old remained undefeated with 25 winners to Tseng's 11 while he out-aced his Taiwanese opponent six to zero.