The draw for the ATP Finals in Turin is out, with eight players battling for 1500 ATP points and a notable trophy. Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the top seeds, leading groups Green and Red. World no. 2 Nadal seeks his first ATP Finals crown, hoping to make a deep run and chase Carlos Alcaraz in the year-end no.
1 battle, the same as Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rafa faces Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz in the Green Group, setting his eyes on the seventh ATP Finals semi-final and a better run than in a previous couple of tournaments.
Ruud is the weakest indoor player among these eight, but Nadal will need his best tennis to beat Auger-Aliassime and Fritz. The Red Group is packed with three former champions, led by Novak Djokovic! Novak faces Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, with thrilling matches guaranteed in a battle for the last four.
Novak is the favorite, but the rivals will try to spoil his party and chase valuable points. In the last year’s final, Alexander Zverev dethroned Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 15 minutes for his second ATP Finals title in four years.
Zverev toppled Novak Djokovic in the semi-final and beat the Russian for the first time after five straight losses in the title clash to lift the trophy. Alexander served at 74% and dropped 13 points in ten service games to avoid break points.
Medvedev failed to follow that pace, facing four break chances and getting broken once in each set to hand the trophy to the younger rival and experience the first ATP Finals loss after nine straight victories.
Rafael Nadal will face Auger-Aliassime, Ruud and Fritz in Turin.
Daniil kicked off the encounter with a hold at love before Alexander brought the second game home to get his name to the scoreboard.
The German grabbed a break at 15 in the third game following a lucky net cord winner and held at love with an ace for 3-1 in ten minutes. Medvedev struggled to find his strokes and faced another break chance in game five. He saved it and forced Zverev’s error to remain within one break deficit.
The German brought the eighth game home with a forehand winner and fired three service winners at 5-4 to wrap up the opener in 32 minutes. Medvedev got broken at the beginning of the second set thanks to a forehand mistake, and Alexander cemented the break with another powerful serve in the next one.
The German landed a short backhand winner at the net in the fourth game for a 3-1 advantage. Daniil reached deuce on the return in the sixth game with a forehand winner before Alexander placed two winners to bring it home and remain in front.
Zverev held at 15 in game eight and sealed the deal with an ace at 5-4 for his second ATP Finals title and a perfect season-ending.