Rafael Nadal has finally received the honour of winning the ATP Tour Fans Favourite Award. His great pal and rival Roger Federer won the gong for 19 straight years in a remarkable show of his longevity.
But after retiring from competition in September, the Spaniard at long last received the most votes from fans to win. The 36-year-old was delighted to receive the award and while speaking to the ATP Tour media team, he said: 'I am super happy to receive the Fans’ Favourite Award [in] 2022.
“It makes me feel great. I can’t thank you enough everyone for the support not only for this award, but at the same time for all the support that I receive in every single city and event around the world. That means everything to me, so I am very [much] looking forward to 2023 to share a lot of positive things again. See you soon!”
Nadal had enjoyed a successful 2022 season, starting it with a 20-match win streak which included a phenomenal run to the Australian Open title and a record 21st grand slam title. He backed that up with his fourth Acapulco Open crown and a rib injury impacted his performance against Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final, where he suffered his first defeat of the year.
The problem forced him to miss the beginning of the clay court season, and despite going into the French Open without having won a prior event on the dirt, the world number two found his best tennis. He overcame a major scare in the fourth, prevailing over Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets. This was only the third time he had gone the distance at Roland Garros.
But Nadal found a way and then produced one of his best performances of the year to dispatch Novak Djokovic in four compelling sets late into the Parisian night. The tennis legend was involved in a gruelling semi-final with Alexander Zverev which came to an early end following a gruesome injury to the German. Nadal then increased his tally to 22 majors after annihilating Casper Ruud in straight sets to win the crown for an unprecedented 14th time.
The Mallorca native made it to Wimbledon but his campaign was cut short due to an ab injury and he withdrew before what was set to be a mouthwatering semi-final with Nick Kyrgios.
His season never recovered, as early exits in Cincinnati and the US Open followed, before going on a run of four straight losses. Nadal ended his season with a victory over Casper Ruud, but failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the ATP Finals and missed out on a chance at finishing 2022 as the world number one.
Nadal will begin the new campaign in Australia - representing Spain in the inaugural United Cup from December 29 to January 8, 2023.
