London is preparing to collect, one more year, the ATP Finals. Eight tennis masters seek the crown that accredits them as players of the year at the London O2 between November 15 and 22. 2020 will be a strange edition, like the year itself, having only played three Masters 1000 and three Grand Slam. This is how the eight stars of world tennis have fared this season.
-Novak Djokovic: The Serbian arrives in London with the favorite poster, having lost three games in the whole year. With the number one assured no matter what happens for the sixth season in his career, 'Nole' has added another Grand Slam to his record in 2020, his eighth Australian Open. He also won the two Masters 1000 he has played (Rome and Cincinnati), and his lowest point was disqualification at the US Open after hitting a linesman. Another controversial moment was his promotion of the Adria Tour, a series of tournaments in which he ended up catching the coronavirus, along with several other tennis players, after not following the necessary measures. Look for his sixth ATP Finals.
-Rafael Nadal: 2020 has been another year of Spanish idyll with Roland Garros. Rafa achieved his thirteenth title in Paris, and achieved several milestones from another planet, such as adding 1,000 victories in ATP tournaments, or chaining 790 consecutive weeks in the top-10 of the world rankings. In Australia he stayed in the quarters, he did not attend the North American tour so he did not play the US Open or Cincinnati, and in Rome he lost for the first time in three years. He has never won the ATP Finals.
-Dominic Thiem: Winning his first Grand Slam, the US Open, has served to confirm that the Austrian is the main alternative in tennis to the all-powerful 'Big Three'. In addition, in Australia he reached the final. Where else was expected of him, at Roland Garros, he could only reach the quarterfinals, defeated in a fateful meeting against Schwartzman. In the Masters 1000, he only played Cincinnati, and he was eliminated at the first exchange. Last year he was a finalist in London.
-Daniil Medvedev: He is one of the men of the season and of the moment. Recently winner of the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, Russian is another serious alternative to dominating the Big Three. Semifinalist at the US Open, he disappointed at Roland Garros and Australia, being eliminated in the first and fourth rounds, respectively. He has surpassed Federer as fourth in the world ranking. Last season, he did not win a game in his first Finals.
-Stefanos Tsitsipas: The defending champion lands in London after a year of ups and downs. At the Australian Open, the Greek did not make it past the third round. He came back from the pandemic in good shape and stayed in the Cincinnati semifinals, but at the US Open he stayed again in the third round. He came to Roland Garros with renewed energy and reached the semifinals. In Paris-Bercy and Rome he did not pass the second round. He has added the ATP 250 in Marseille to his record, and was a finalist in the ATP 500 in Hamburg and Dubai.
-Alexander Zverev: The German has had a good year, with up to 27 victories. A semi-finalist in Australia, he was pulled down by Thiem from what would be his first Grand Slam final. This milestone was achieved at the US Open, where he also played against the Austrian and was defeated again. At Roland Garros he was tired and fell in the round of 16. He comes from being a finalist in Paris-Bercy, while in Cincinnati he was surprised by Andy Murray in the second round. He won the two ATP 250 tournaments played in Cologne. London is good at it: he won in 2018, and last year he was a semi-finalist.
-Andrey Rublev: Nobody has won more than the Russian this year (40 wins for just 8 losses, and 5 titles). The numbers confirm that Rublev arrives at the best moment of his career, which has earned him to be in his first Finals. His five wins are the ATP 250 in Doha and Adelaide at the beginning of the year, and the ATP 500 in Hamburg, St. Petersburg and Vienna in recent months. He reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and US Open, while in Australia he stayed in the second round.
-Diego Schwartzman: 'El Peque' has played in this 2020 the best tennis of his career. In the restart of the competition after the pandemic, he failed in the United States, remaining in the second round of Cincinnati, and in the first round of the US Open. From there, the Argentine resettled. In Rome he reached the final, with victory over Nadal included, and at Roland Garros he reached the semifinals, where this time he could not overcome the Spanish. He makes his debut in the ATP Finals, and is the only player present in London who has not won a title this season.