Andy Roddick explains why Felix Auger-Aliassime is favorite to beat Rafael Nadal in their upcoming ATP Finals clash

Top seed Rafael Nadal will face fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in his second 2022 ATP Finals round-robin match in Turin on Tuesday. Auger-Aliassime and Nadal lost their respective opening matches in straight sets to Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz respectively.

Though the 22-time Grand Slam champion has come out on top in his previous two matches against Auger-Aliassime, former World No. 1 Andy Roddick believes that their career head-to-head record will not matter in their upcoming encounter.

"Yeah, form matters. You can have the lifetime statistics and those create a legacy. But what's happened the last three months kind of dictates who's favorite. I agree with Jim, this is Rafa's least favorite time of the year. These court surfaces does not really support him," said Roddick.

Heading into the ATP Finals, Auger-Aliassime has been one of the most in-form players on the tour, winning three titles and 17 of his last 19 matches. Meanwhile, Nadal has spent a lot of time on the sidelines and hasn't won a match since his US Open fourth-round exit.

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"I have less time than him to do what I want to do on the ball" - Rafael Nadal on his defeat to Taylor Fritz

Rafael Nadal in action against Taylor Fritz at the 2022 ATP Finals

In his post-match press conference, Rafael Nadal revealed that Taylor Fritz used the nature of the court better and that is why he emerged victorious. He stated that court speed played a part in his performance as everything was happening too fast for him.

"Easy: it's about time. Tennis and the sport in general, it's about time. I have less time than him to do what I want to do on the ball. I felt that everything was going so fast. When that happens normally you are under stress and you don't have the time to play the kind of shot that you want. In most of the points of the match, I was in a defensive position and he was in an offensive position. That's what happened," he explained.

The Spaniard pointed out that there was little he could do to tackle the issue. The top seed revealed that he needed matches to adjust to playing conditions.

"That's something that was difficult to avoid for me because you need to be quicker on your legs, quicker on your mind. It's something that even if you work, you need to win matches to make that happen, no, even a lot of times happened the other way," he said.