Basel and Vienna stacked with top players with Nitto ATP Finals bids at stake

By Ricky Dimon

Following the current trio of ATP 250 tournaments, only two weeks will remain in the 2022 season prior to the Nitto ATP Finals. Next week there are two 500 events on the schedule (Basel and Vienna), and those precede the Paris Masters 1000.

With two-plus weeks to go, five of the eight spots in the year-end championship have been locked up by Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Novak Djokovic. The first four players on that list have qualified via points, while Djokovic’s place is secured thanks to his Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. As it stands right now, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime would round out the field.

Medvedev and Rublev are in great shape and will find themselves in Turin barring some surprising results in Basel, Vienna, and/or Paris. However, the eighth and final spot is completely up for grabs. As such, basically everyone who has a mathematical chance of qualifying is playing next week in either Basel or Vienna.

Of the top 20 players in the race to Turin, only Nadal, Djokovic, and Nick Kyrgios are not playing next week. Kyrgios withdrew from both Basel and the Paris Masters on Thursday. It is unclear if the Aussie’s season is over or if he will play doubles in Turin with Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The Basel entry list currently boasts Alcaraz, Ruud, Auger-Aliassime, Pablo Carreno Busta, Marin Cilic, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Alex de Minaur. Vienna’s field includes Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rublev, Cameron Norrie, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz, and Matteo Berrettini

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