Nadal, against Thiem, Rublev and Tsitsipas at the Masters

Rafa Nadal arrived in London on Wednesday night. A confined ghost town where in the gigantic O2 Arena, without an audience and without accredited journalists, he will seek from Sunday the title of teacher that resists him. The Spanish went directly to the Intercontinental Hotel to pass the mandatory COVID-19 test and today he learned about the group draw.

The Spanish was framed in the London Group together with Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, against whom he will debut on Sunday at around 9:00 p.m. The Austrian (9-5 for the Spaniard with a loss this year in Australia) comes from losing in the quarterfinals in Vienna, where he suffered a minor foot injury. The Greek is the current champion. And the young Russian (23 years old), the leader of the course in tournaments (5) and victories (40-8).

Nadal has qualified for the Finals uninterruptedly since 2015, but of the 15 editions he has only played nine due to various physical problems. This time, he arrives with only 30 matches on his legs due to the pandemic, and with the previous filming at the Masters 1,000 in Paris-Bercy, a Greenset track identical to the one in London, where lost in the semifinals against Alexander Zverev, teacher in 2018. The Spaniard reached the finals in 2010 and 2013, but fell to Federer and Djokovic, respectively.

As for Novak Djokovic, he will have to face Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Diego Schwartzman in the group qualifying round. The German and the Russian contested the recent final in Paris and are off Rafa's starting route.

The Serbian lost in the final of Roland Garros against Nadal and on his return in Vienna skated in the quarterfinals against Italian Lorenzo Sonego, giving the impression of being at odds with himself. But his balance in 2020 is 39-3, he has in mind to win a sixth title that would equal the record of the injured Roger Federer and a great opportunity to score points. He only managed 200 last year and could add a maximum of 1,300 for Nadal's 1,100. (the undefeated title is 1,500).

Depending on what the two do, the Serb aims to secure number one until after the Australian Open. and get closer to his obsession to surpass Federer in March as the player with the most weeks at the top.

TOKYO GROUP 1970

Novak Djokovic (Ser / 1st)

Daniil Medvedev (Rus / 4th)

Alexander Zverev (Ale / 7th)

Diego Schwartzman (Arg / 9th)

LONDON GROUP 2020

Rafael Nadal (2nd)

Dominic Thiem (Aut / 3rd)

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre / 6th)

Andrey Rublev (Rus / 8th)