As some other editions, this ATP Finals will be extremely interesting not only for the magnitude of the event but also because they are going to decide who will be the world no.1 by the end of the year.
Djokovic vs Nadal
In 2019, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have renewed their epic rivalry to battle also for the top of the rankings. The Serbian sensation looked to be sure of grabbing the top of the rankings by the end of the year after his incredible title in Wimbledon. Unfortunately, Novak got injured, and after Nadal won the Rogers Cup and the US Open, it seemed as he had an unassailable lead over his rival also because Djokovic was still struggling with his shoulder injury.
The table turned again soon after as Djokovic won another incredible title at the Master1000 in Paris even if he was sick while Nadal had to withdraw with an abdominal injury before playing the semifinal.
Novak Djokovic about his chances to get back his world no.1 rank.
Nadal is now leading Djokovic by 640 points. However, the Serbian has a much better record than Rafa on indoor courts, especially at the Finals that he won on 5 occasions while this is still an elusive title for the Spaniard.
During the pre-tournament press conference, Djokovic commented:
“It is up for grabs for both of us. This tournament is going to decide [it]. He’s in a better position, but after winning Paris-Bercy, I put myself in a pretty good position. Obviously it doesn’t depend only on me, it depends on how he does in the tournament. But I’ll try to focus on my matches and obviously right from the beginning, out of the blocks, you have to start with real intensity and quality of tennis because it’s the elite eight players of the world. There’s no smoothing your way into the tournament; you have to be very sharp from the start.”
Novak needs to perform extremely well in Paris and if Rafa wins at least 2 matches, he has no other option than winning the tournament if he wants to end the year at the top. Nole is in the same group as Roger Federer, Matteo Berrettini, and Dominic Thiem.
Prediction and H2H Novak Djokovic vs. Matteo Berrettini
Djokovic will kick start his campaign against Matteo Berrettini. They have never played each other so far. However, the former world no.1 is expected to win in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, the Serbian played his last match on the 3rd of November when he beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 in the final in Paris to win his 77th career title.
This year the Serbian has a 53-9 win-loss record. Djokovic conquered 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
At the moment ranked no.1, Nadal played his last match on the 2nd of November when he had to surrender to Denis Shapovalov w/o in the semifinal in Paris.
This year Nadal has a 50-6 win-loss record. Nadal has won 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. The Spaniard was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they squared off, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome on the 19th May 2019.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal |
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