"The king is in town" - Tennis fans express excitement at Rafael Nadal's arrival in Turin for ATP Finals

Rafael Nadal has landed in Turin, Italy ahead of the ATP Finals, his final tournament of the year. Despite qualifying every year since 2005, he has never been able to clinch the title at the event.

An early exit at the Paris Masters meant the Mallorcan arrived earlier than usual in Turin to prepare for the ATP Finals. He is still in contention for the year-end No. 1 ranking. He is currently 1000 points behind World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and needs a deep run in Turin to overtake the teenager. Nadal, incidentally, will be the top seed at the tournament after Alcaraz's withdrawal due to an injury.

The news of his early arrival in Turin has got tennis fans on social media buzzing.

"The King @RafaelNadal is in town," a journalist announced.

One fan stated the obvious by saying that the former World No. 1 was in Turin to gear up for next week's ATP Finals.

"In Turin to prepare for next week's ATP Tour Finals," one fan said.

Another fan observed that the new father had a "sleepy" look about him.

"hello to this sleepy dad...so glad he's there," one tweet read.

Another fan referred to Nadal as 'Don' upon his arrival in Turin.

"Don Rafael Nadal," one fan wrote.

Here are a few other fan reactions:

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“I just want to give myself a chance to enjoy another World Tour Finals” – Rafael Nadal on ATP Finals

Rafael Nadal pictured during a press conference at the 2022 Paris Masters.

Rafael Nadal faced an early exit at the Paris Masters, losing his opening match 6-3, 6(4)-7, 1-6 to Tommy Paul. The Spaniard stated in his post-match press conference that he hoped to give his best in the upcoming ATP Finals as it might be the last time he'd be competing in the event in his career.

"I'm excited about playing, even if it hasn't been a perfect couple of months for me. But, yeah, there's nothing to lose. After a good year, going there, I'm just trying my best. In the end, I need days on the tour. It's true that in 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. I'm going to try. If I feel okay, I'll be there earlier than usual and have some practice," said Nadal.

"I just want to give myself a chance to enjoy another World Tour Finals, no? You never know when it's going to be the last, especially at my age. So I'm going to give my best to enjoy this one, and then next year, of course, I'm going to fight to be back there. Yeah, I need to put everything in perspective, and just I'm going to keep trying my best, and I need to be healthy enough to spend days on the tour. That's it," he added.