Stefanos Tsitsipas has more than a title on the line at next week’s Nitto ATP Finals. The Greek star controls his fate in the battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the end of the year. If the 24-year-old wins the final event of the season without losing a match, he will ascend to World No.
1 for the first time and end the year on top of the men’s tennis mountain. However, if Tsitsipas fails to make it 5-0 at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, he will open the door for Rafael Nadal to return to the top spot. The Spaniard can accomplish the feat by winning the title.
If Tsitsipas doesn’t leave Turin an undefeated champion, Nadal can also return to World No. 1 by advancing to the final after winning all three of his round-robin matches. Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings Player Points
1) Carlos Alcaraz 6,820
2) Rafael Nadal 5,820
3) Stefanos Tsitsipas 5,350 Nadal has finished the year as No.1 five times previously, most recently in 2019.
Achieving the feat again this year would put the Spaniard for second most year-end finishes of No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973) with Pete Sampras (6). If neither of those scenarios plays out, Carlos Alcaraz will remain at No.
1 in the world and get his first time at No. 1 at the end of the year. The 19-year-old, who first rose to the top spot on September 12 after winning the US Open, withdrew from the Nitto ATP Finals due to a torn internal oblique muscle in his left abdominal wall.
Players at the Nitto ATP Finals earn 200 points for each round-robin win, 400 points for a semi-final win and 500 points for winning the championship match.
Nadal did not shine in Bercy
Rafael Nadal is gearing up for the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin.
“Rafa talked about the need to play more matches, he talked about getting to Italy early to play practice sets but practice sets are nothing like playing real matches. It just helps you but it is not the same thing,” Flink said.
“So it was unfortunate that he didn’t get more matches in Paris in advance of Turin to give himself a better chance because the field has so much depth. It’s going to be such a hard-fought event and both groups of four players each are going to be exceedingly strong.
So it’s going to be hard for Rafa because he has always been the least comfortable indoors. He could well prove me wrong. He’s is one of these guys who, no matter how many negative comments he makes, ‘doubt’ is one of his favorite words, he overcomes his doubts.
I still think we’ll see him go in with the usual fighting spirit. So he’ll still be hard to beat but I don’t like the conditions. It tends to be fast in Turin,” he added.
