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Tennis News • Nitto ATP Finals Groups: Djokovic with Medvedev, Nadal with defending champ Tsitsipas



By Ricky Dimon

The Nitto ATP Finals draw ceremony was held on Thursday afternoon in London.

Group A features Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and Diego Schartzman. Joining Rafael Nadal in Group B are Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Andrey Rublev.

Group A
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Alexander Zverev
Diego Schwartzman

Group B
Rafael Nadal
Dominic Thiem
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Andrey Rublev

With Djokovic obviously better than Nadal on indoor hard courts (especially at the year-end championship) and Rublev more dangerous than Schwartzman, Group A is definitely the tougher of the two. Also divided up in the pool were Thiem-Medvedev and Zverev-Tsitsipas. In both of those cases you can make an argument for either player being the more difficult opponent inside the O2 Arena.

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in action against Dominic Thiem of Austria during their final match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 17 November 2019.



Djokovic is bidding for his fifth title in London, although he has not lifted the trophy since doing so on four consecutive occasions from 2012 through 2015. Medvedev went 0-3 in his tournament debut last fall, but this time around he has momentum from a triumph at the Paris Masters. Zverev captured back-to-back titles in Cologne and then finished runner-up to Medvedev in Paris. Schwartzman is the underdog in this field and will be making his first appearance at the year-end championship.

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts during his round robin match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 15 November 2019. EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER



Nadal has never won the Nitto ATP Finals, but he is healthy and well-rested for once at this late stage of the season so this could be his best chance. Thiem and Tsitsipas were the 2019 finalists, with the Greek prevailing in a third-set tiebreaker. Like Schwartzman, Rublev is making his London debut. The eighth-ranked Russian is the hottest player on tour at the moment and cannot be discounted despite being the lowest seed in Group B.

Opening matches in Group A are Djokovic vs. Schwartzman and Medvedev vs. Zverev. In Group B, Nadal will kick off his campaign against Rublev while Thiem and Tsitsipas are set for an O2 Arena rematch.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.