ATP Finals: London Group – Nadal vs. Tsitsipas under pressure – Sport

Rafael Nadal and the ATP Finals: It is not yet a love story. The Spaniard has continuously qualified for the year-end tournament since the beginning of 2005, but only took advantage of 9 of the 15 possible opportunities.

Most of the time, Nadal was absent due to an injury like in 2008 or 2012. In 2014, an upcoming appendectomy operation thwarted his plans. And three years ago he had to give up after his initial loss to David Goffin with knee problems. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has never won the unofficial world tennis championship.

Mixed feelings 2019

Even this year, not everything is going according to plan for Nadal: In the final duel with defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 34-year-old definitely needs a win to reach the semi-finals. The year before, he had inflicted the only loss in the group to the Greek before failing in the round robin.

In the direct match, Nadal is clearly 5: 1 ahead and has also won the 3 hard court matches that he does not prefer. Only in the semifinals of Madrid 2019 did Tsitsipas hit, of all places on sand, Nadal’s favorite track.