The eight-man singles field for the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals in London is finally set. Diego Schwartzman claimed the final spot and will make his first appearance in the season-ending tournament, which will begin next week.
Daniil Medvedev will also be taking part in London, and the Russian should be full of confidence after his victory at the Paris Masters over the weekend.
However, he still faces stiff competition from the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have set some new historical milestones ahead of the ATP Finals.
As always, SBOTOP is here to run down all of the biggest bits of news concerning the season-ending event.
Diego Schwartzman seals eighth and final ATP Finals place
Diego Schwartzman is off to London. The 28-year-old claimed the eighth and final spot in the ATP Finals after reaching the quarter-final of the Paris Masters.
The Argentinian joins fellow debutant Andrey Rublev, who sealed his place the previous week, as well as World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Schwartzman lost to eventual Paris Masters champion Medvedev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. He would have clinched the final spot had he won. But despite the defeat, Schwartzman still held on to his place after Pablo Carreno Busta — the only other player who was still in contention for that final place — couldn’t overcome Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Schwartzman will be making his debut in the ATP Finals after an impressive season where he went 25-12. While he didn’t win a title, he did reach the final of two clay-court tournaments.
One of those was the Rome Masters, where he beat Rafael Nadal in the quarters but lost to Novak Djokovic in the final. He also went all the way to the semi-finals of the French Open, where he lost to eventual champion Nadal.
Daniil Medvedev warms up for ATP Finals with Paris Masters win
Schwartzman lost out to Medvedev, who went on to win in Paris. The Russian dispatched Milos Raonic in the semi-final then came from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev in the final.
With that title — his first of the year — Medvedev overtook Roger Federer for No. 4 in the ATP rankings.
The 24-year-old hasn’t quite had as impressive a season as he had last year, where he won four singles titles. Prior to his win in Paris, the main highlight of his 2020 season had been reaching the semi-finals of the US Open, where he lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
But despite his fine form last season, Medvedev flopped in his ATP Finals debut, where he lost all three of his group matches. This time around, though, the Russian feels like he’s in better shape to produce some improved Nitto ATP Finals 2020 results.
“(I’m) coming (in) better shape than last year,” said the world number five, with the ATP Finals starting in a week’s time.
“Last year (I) was real exhausted, lost first round in Paris. That’s when you lose your confidence. When you lose first round you always lose your confidence.
“(I’ve) just won the tournament, going to have a few days off. Come to London, practise good. Hopefully can get some wins there.”
Djokovic, Nadal set new milestones ahead of ATP Finals
Neither Novak Djokovic nor Rafa Nadal will head into the Nitto ATP Finals in the best of form. Djokovic crashed out in the quarter-finals in Vienna, while Nadal once again fell short in the Paris Masters, losing in the semis to Alexander Zverev.
Regardless, the top two players in the world will still be favoured by the Nitto ATP Finals 2020 odds to go deep in London. And they should also get a nice confidence-booster after they set some new historical milestones ahead of the season-ending tournament.
Djokovic secured year-end World No. 1 status for the sixth time in his career, tying Pete Sampras’ all-time record.
As for Nadal, he broke Jimmy Connors’ record for the most consecutive weeks in the top 10, which now stands at 290 and counting.
Despite his disappointment at losing to Zverev in Paris, Nadal remains confident that he will be ready to play at a high level in London.
“I spent hours on court,” Nadal said of his Paris Masters campaign. “Of course I wanted to win the tournament, but it’s always difficult.
“But I had the right attitude during the whole event, I think, fighting in every match. That gave me the chance to play four matches that I think that will be helpful for London.”
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