Rafael Nadal has lost six matches in 2022—three of them to Americans

HIGHLIGHTS: Tommy Paul defeats Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1

Rafael Nadal has done a lot in 2022. He won his second Australian Open, and his 14th French Open. He moved to the top of the list among all-time men’s Grand Slam champions. And he played a starring role in Roger Federer’s Laver Cup farewell.

Along the way, Rafa has also done a lot for U.S. men’s tennis.

After 21 straight wins to start the year, Nadal’s first loss came to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final in March. The victory gave Fritz his first ATP Masters 1000 title and launched him into the Top 10. Five months later, at the US Open, Rafa lost to Frances Tiafoe. That victory sent the Maryland native into his first Grand Slam semifinal. Finally, on Wednesday, Nadal fell to Tommy Paul, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 in his opening match at the Rolex Paris Masters. Rafa has lost six times in 2022; half of those defeats have come to Americans.

Against Fritz, Nadal was fighting a cracked rib; against Tiafoe, he was outhit by a player 10 years his junior. Paul is also a decade younger than Rafa, and he happens to be one of the tour’s best athletes. Perhaps knowing that, Nadal made an effort to take the initiative in the early going. He stepped closer to the baseline to attack his returns. He came to the net when he could, and found the corners with his volleys. There was rust—this was his first singles match since the Open, and first since becoming a father—but Rafa shook a little off with each game. When he broke early in the second set, he seemed to have the situation under control, and Paul at bay.

Then he served at 2-1, and everything fell apart. Nadal missed a forehand long, a forehand wide, a backhand into the net, and was broken at love. His body language seemed to unravel with his shots. He managed to get the set to a tiebreak, before unraveling again. Rafa double faulted on the second point, and missed two key forehands that gave Paul three set points.

When Paul rifled an inside-out forehand for a winner, the set was over and, essentially, so was the match. In the third, Nadal struggled to compete, and spent one changeover hunched over, staring down at the court, letting the sweat drip over his face.

Afterward, Nadal admitted there have been “a lot of things going on” in his life recently, but he credited Paul’s play and said there were some positives to take away from the performance.

“I had my match in that second set with set and break,” he said. “I played terrible game there. I didn’t deserve the victory playing that bad in that key moment, no.

“Until that moment was OK, a good match for me. Knowing that’s my first match since a while.”

The biggest issue, according to Rafa, is all the time he’s been away from the sport this year, due to his various injuries. His two-month on, two-month off schedule caught up with him tonight. He needs matches, yes, but he also needs the practices that come with them. He says he plans to play at the ATP Finals in Turin, and get off to a strong start in 2023.

“At the end I need days on the tour, you know,” Nadal said. “It’s true that for the last five months I didn’t spend enough days on the tour.

“I don’t even say competing on a tennis court. I say on the tour. Practicing with the guys. That’s what I need.”

And how about Tommy Paul? Like Fritz and Tiafoe before him, Paul has been looking for a top-tier win like this. Will it take launch him to a new level, the way it did his countrymen?

For now, all Paul can do is come back and try to do it again tomorrow, against Pablo Carreño Busta.