Nadal, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, announced last week that he will retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.
Jannik Sinner beat Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday and ensure he finishes the year as world number one.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz made short work of China's Shang Juncheng on Saturday, defeating him in straight sets to breeze through to the Shanghai Masters third round.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Spain edged a captivating final 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) for his fourth ATP crown of the year and 16th overall.
Jannik Sinner ignored the bubbling controversy over his steroid case and a roaring home crowd to set up a China Open final against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Carlos Alcaraz welcomed the addition of Rafa Nadal to Spain's Davis Cup team for the quarter-finals in November and hoped the event in Malaga will not mark the end of the 22-times Grand Slam champion's career.
"I'm too far away from that level," he said. "I hope I'll reach it one day, but it's really impossible," said Alcaraz.
"It was a huge thing when I played him for the first time," said the world number three. "The other times for me were kind of a nightmare."
Alcaraz lost 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, ending his bid to become only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same season.
Nadal, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, announced last week that he will retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.
Jannik Sinner beat Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday and ensure he finishes the year as world number one.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz made short work of China's Shang Juncheng on Saturday, defeating him in straight sets to breeze through to the Shanghai Masters third round.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Spain edged a captivating final 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) for his fourth ATP crown of the year and 16th overall.
Jannik Sinner ignored the bubbling controversy over his steroid case and a roaring home crowd to set up a China Open final against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Carlos Alcaraz welcomed the addition of Rafa Nadal to Spain's Davis Cup team for the quarter-finals in November and hoped the event in Malaga will not mark the end of the 22-times Grand Slam champion's career.
"I'm too far away from that level," he said. "I hope I'll reach it one day, but it's really impossible," said Alcaraz.
"It was a huge thing when I played him for the first time," said the world number three. "The other times for me were kind of a nightmare."
Alcaraz lost 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, ending his bid to become only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same season.
Sinner marked his return to the courts for the first time since it was revealed he had failed two drugs tests, coming back from a set and break down to defeat Mackenzie McDonald at the US Open.