Rafael Nadal suffers shocking loss in first match as father
ATP
Rafael Nadal played his first match as a father at the 2022 Paris Masters, and the match didn't go according to his plans as the Spaniard lost in three sets.
Nadal had a first-round bye as a second seed at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris. That meant he avoided playing his first-round match and started in the second round of the event.
His second-round opponent was Tommy Paul from the United States, whom the Spaniard defeated earlier this year in Acapulco on his way to the title in Mexico. However, at the Paris Masters, which is a tournament that the 22-time Grand Slam champion never won, the situation was much different.
Already before the event started, Nadal stated that he was not fighting for the World No. 1 spot anymore, but he had his eyes still set on the top prize. Despite being broken first, the Spaniard showed his qualities in the first set by breaking his opponent two times and winning it 6-3.
However, in the second set, Nadal couldn't use his one-break advantage, and after Paul forced a tie-break, the American player also leveled the score of the match.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion wanted to fight in the third set, but he couldn't beat his opponent, who hit only four unforced errors in the decider and ultimately won 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1.
While Nadal will be disappointed to lose already in his first match in Paris, Paul was incredibly happy about getting to beat the legend of the sport.
"It's probably my best win. I was obviously pumped for the matchup because it's always interesting when you play one of the Big Three. I've only played him the second time, but the first time, I was so nervous. It was weird."
"This time, I wasn't really nervous. I was pretty relaxed going onto the court and the day before. I think that played a role. I came out playing pretty well. He got the first set, but I feel like I played pretty well from the jump."
