WATCH: Nadal funnily chokes Rublev after he shows him middle finger

Saturday, 12 November 2022 at 19:00

Updated at Saturday, 12 November 2022 at 18:02

nadal rafael madridopen2022 florinbaltatoiu54

byBalasz Virag

The final event of the ATP season always brings a lot of moments to remember, especially because only the Top 8 players always compete in it.

This year, Rafael Nadal is the top-seeded player at the 2022 ATP Finals after his compatriot and world no. 1, Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the event. He will meet Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud in the green group of players that never lifted an ATP Finals trophy.

Read also

Nadal, Djokovic eyeing new world record for prize money won at 2022 ATP Finals

On the other hand, red group features three former champions - Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas - and Andrey Rublev. The Russian also joked about him being the only player not to win a year-end trophy during a press conference and it's obvious that there's a very good mood on the courts in Turin.

During one of the practices, Nadal almost hit Auger-Aliassime and joked that he almost had "one less rival". It didn't take long before another funny content from Turin arrived as the Spaniard practiced with Rublev, who is also one of the guys that likes to have fun.

After one of the rallies, Rublev jokingly showed a middle finger to his opponent and it didn't take a lot before he came for his revenge. When the Russian sat down to rest, Nadal approached him and put his hand around Rublev's neck while mimicking a choking motion.

Of course, everything done on the practice court was with smile on the face as both players showed big respect towards each other. Last year, Rublev spoke about Nadal as his idol when growing up:

"I liked the way Marat Safin played of course," Rublev told Russian sports site Championat. "As a child, Nadal was an idol. Now, I periodically play and train with him. I remember our first training session, I was 16 years old. I experienced cool sensations and a surge of motivation. I immediately wanted to work even harder in order to somehow fight him."