Rafael Nadal happy for ‘unexpected’ milestone news at US Open
Rafael Nadal is glad to have qualified for the ATP Finals after he officially broke the ranking points threshold midway through US Open competition.
Technically speaking, given he has already won two Slams this year, the 23-time Major champion would be eligible to play the ATP Finals even if he did not make the ranking points cut.
However, qualifying for Turin before the US Open is even complete is still an impressive feat from the 36-year-old who is set to make his 11th appearance at the elite season-ending event.
“Well, I know I will be there since a while because winning two Grand Slams, it’s difficult to not be there,” he said in his post-second round press conference. “Good news of course. One more year at the age of 36. Finish the year probably, if nothing goes wrong, in the top five.
“It’s better than what we expected when we started the year and we didn’t know much about how the things going to go, no.”
Nadal has qualified for Turin! ?
Relive @rafaelnadal‘s best shots from the #NittoATPFinals ? pic.twitter.com/km4jhH7jYD
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 2, 2022
Nadal has actually qualified for the ATP Finals every year since he first did so in 2005, 17 straight seasons. However, Nadal was unable to play due to injury in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021.
Moreover, the Finals is one of just a handful of the biggest tournaments in the game that Nadal has never won, twice reaching the final in 2010 and 2013, losing to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic respectively on those occasions.
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