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Ricky’s Preview and Picks for the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals

Rolex Paris Masters champion Daniil Medvedev is seeded fourth at the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

By Ricky Dimon

Will Novak Djokovic win the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since 2015? Will Rafael Nadal triumph at this prestigious event for the first time ever? Or–as has come to be the norm in recent years–will an outsider crash the party?

We will find out the answer to those questions in a little more than a week from now, but action inside the O2 Arena gets underway on Sunday. Group B will kick off the London finale festivities, while Group B will take center stage on Monday.

Draw

Group A
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Alexander Zverev
Diego Schwartzman

Group B
Rafael Nadal
Dominic Thiem
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Andrey Ruble

In Group A there is an obvious favorite (Djokovic) and a clear underdog (Schwartzman). On paper, the semifinal berths would go to the world No. 1 and then whoever wins the Medvedev-Zverev showdown on Monday. Of course, how things would play out on paper hardly means anything. There is no pressure on Schwartzman and he has been in stellar form of late, so he cannot be discounted. Moreover, Medvedev and Zverev have proven that they can beat Djokovic.

Andrey Rublev lost his ATP Finals debut match to world No. 2 Rafael Nadal.

Nadal is healthier and more rested than usual heading into London, but the same can be said of his status at the Paris Masters–which he also has never won–and he lost to Zverev in the semifinals. The second-ranked Spaniard is unlikely to dominate Group B, in which both of the semifinal spots should be totally up grabs. Tsitsipas is the defending champion, Thiem won the U.S. Open this summer, and Rublev is red hot right now.

Picks

Group A
Djokovic over Schwartzman in 2
Medvedev over Zverev in 3
Medvedev over Djokovic in 3
Zverev over Schwartzman in 3
Schwartzman over Medvedev in 2
Zverev over Djokovic in 3

Group B
Nadal over Rublev in 3
Thiem over Tsitsipas in 3
Thiem over Nadal in 2
Rublev over Tsitsipas in 2
Nadal over Tsitsipas in 3
Rublev over Thiem in 3

Semifinals: (1A) Medvedev over (2B) Thiem in 3, (1B) Rublev over (2A) Zverev in 3

Final: Medvedev over Rublev in 2

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