'This year the conditions did not favor Rafael Nadal', says Spanish player

World Number 1 Novak Djokovic announced how the season will end and said he will only play two more tournaments. The Serbian champion will compete in the ATP tournament in Vienna and will conclude the season with the ATP Finals in London. Surprisingly, the Serbian tennis player has announced that he will not compete in the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy. On the other hand, Rafael Nadal, number 2 in the world, has very little chance of overtaking him: the Spaniard will compete in the Masters 1000 in Bercy and also in the ATP Finals at the end of the year. The two will clash to the end with two tournaments each and Rafa must hope that the Serbian champion will totally collapse. With two victories in the ATP tournament in Vienna, Djokovic will officially be number 1 in the world this season. Right now Novak Djokovic has 11740 points against Rafael Nadal's 9850 points. By removing the points from last year's Finals Novak Djokovic loses 200 points and Nadal loses 400 points (in fact the Serbian won only one match in London against Nadal's two who nevertheless did not qualify for the semifinals). If Rafael Nadal wins the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy and wins all the matches scheduled for the ATP Finals (he would win this tournament for the first time in his career) he would reach a maximum of 11590 points. By eliminating the points of the ATP Finals, two wins in Vienna are enough for Novak Djokovic to reach 11630 points in the ranking. In other words, with the quarter-finals at the Vienna tournament (certainly not an impossible feat for the number 1 in the world) Novak Djokovic will finish the ATP season in 1st place for the sixth time in his career, thus reaching Pete Sampras and overcoming in this special ranking the other two members of the Big Three, namely Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. For the Serbian it would be yet another record and a huge satisfaction (also underlined several times by him) in view of the possible overtaking next season for Roger Federer's week record (the now famous 310 weeks of the Swiss champion). Spanish player Guillermo Garcia Lopez explained that it is unlikely for any player to replicate Nadal's achievements at Roland Garros.

Garcia Lopez on Rafael Nadal

"They say it in the news, that it is impressive, but if you stop to analyze it well...Sergi Bruguera won it twice, Ferrero once and (Carlos) Moya another...I don't know if we are aware of the magnitude of what he has done, nor if another player will be able to repeat it in another Grand Slam," Guillermo Garcia Lopez said. "Especially at Roland Garros... Rafael Nadal must feel very comfortable on that court. This year the conditions did not favor him, or the other players but he has been able to move the ball more than anyone."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3jAaP8E