TURIN – Roger Federer, with six titles in the ATP Finals, is the record holder in the tournament. However, the Swiss great will not be winning it again following his retirement in September.
As the curtain gradually falls on the storied careers of tennis’ “Big Three”, Novak Djokovic, 35, and Rafael Nadal, 36, who have 43 Grand Slams in total, are not quite finished yet when it comes to this prestigious season-ending event.
Djokovic has won it five times, one short of Federer, while Nadal is seeking his maiden title victory.
Speaking to the ATP Tour ahead of Sunday’s start of the competition in Turin, Djokovic said that another crown in a week’s time would be a “perfect ending” to the season.
“The cherry on the cake, for sure, but it’s a long way. It’s a long week,” said the world No. 8 Serb.
“You’ve got to play the best players in the world (here). You have to play more or less everyone in this tournament at least once, so I look forward to it. I’ve had experience in this tournament, and hopefully that can serve me in a good way.
“There is a hype around this tournament. It’s the last week of the year on the Tour, it’s kind of a last sprint for all of us. From the very first match you are going to have extra high intensity, so each one of us is trying to get ready as best as possible.”
The ATP Finals will see eight players competing in two groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Djokovic is in the Red Group with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev. In the Green Group, Nadal will face Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz.
Nadal won the Australian and the French Opens in 2022, breaking the most number of men’s singles Grand Slams clinched at 22.
But the world No. 2 Spaniard has played just one Tour-level match since the US Open as he took time off for the birth of his first child and also to recover from some of his niggling injuries.
“The last couple of months I was not able to spend a lot of time on the Tour,” he said. “So I’m happy to be here, happy to be playing the last tournament of the year.
“I try my best in every event. Doesn’t matter if I won it (in the past) or not. When I enter a tournament, I want to win. I was not good enough to make it (in the ATP Finals) in the past. So I just accept that and I’m happy to give myself another chance at the age of 36.”
