'Rafael Nadal’s still got a very good chance', says ATP legend

The Nitto ATP Finals will kick off on Sunday, taking place at the O2 Arena in London for the last time. From 2021 the Masters will move to Turin, thus greeting the London metropolis after twelve years. The big favorite for the title will be world number 1 Novak Djokovic, back from a great season and already certain to finish the year at the top of the ATP ranking for the sixth time in his career (equaling his idol Pete Sampras ). Behind him is Rafael Nadal, who never won the Masters' tournament and played his last final in 2013 by losing to Djokovic himself. Not to be underestimated Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who won respectively in 2018 and 2019, while Dominic Thiem has taken the whim of winning his first Major after three lost finals. During a long interview with Tennis365, Tim Henman took stock of the situation just a few days before the last tournament of the season.

Henman on the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals

“It’s not really going out on a limb is it to choose Novak Djokovic,” Tim Henman said. “He’s the No. 1 player in the world again and he’s won this tournament on I think five different occasions,” Henman noted. “He’s got such a good record indoors and for all these players it’s almost the last push as it were. I think if I had to be backing anyone it’d be Djokovic.” Tim Henman pointed out these achievements to lay claim that Rafael Nadal does have a ‘very good chance’ should his body not succumb to the demands of indoor conditions. “When you set the bar so high, when you look at his record indoors and sort of say, 'Oh, it’s not too good,'” Henman said. “But he’s won a Masters series indoors, he’s been in the final of the ATP Finals on two occasions I think. He’s still got a very good chance. I don’t think he’s the favorite this coming tournament but he’ll still fancy his chances if he’s fit and healthy.” Henman further added that he was ‘pleased’ when the World No. 3 won the US Open by defeating Alexander Zverev in the final. He also remarked that it would have been odd if Zverev had managed to win a Slam despite having such an ‘unreliable’ second serve. "I think Zverev – given the challenges in his tennis game, he’s had a very unreliable second serve,” Henman added. “I was very pleased that Thiem won that [US Open final], and that’s nothing against Zverev. I sort of felt it would have been amazing to win a Grand Slam with a second serve that has proved to be so unreliable.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3prFbi4