LONDON – Rafael Nadal will look to add the Nitto ATP Finals trophy to his impressive collection when he returns to The O2 this November. The Spaniard becomes the first player to clinch a berth at the prestigious season-ending tournament, to be staged 12-19 November in London, after winning his record 10th Roland Garros title on Sunday in Paris.
“I’ve had a great season so far and I am happy to have already qualified for London,” said Nadal. “I could not play last year because of injury so I look forward to returning in November.”
Since first qualifying in 2005, Nadal has earned a place in the elite eight-man field for 13 straight seasons. He achieved his best results in 2010 and ‘13, when he finished runner-up to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic respectively.
This season, Nadal has compiled an ATP-best 43-6 match record with four titles. In addition to becoming the first player in the Open Era to claim 10 titles at a single Grand Slam tournament, he joined Novak Djokovic at the top of the all-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title leaders list, taking his haul to 30 with his triumphs at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and Mutua Madrid Open. He also won the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title and reached three other finals, at the Australian Open, Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Federer at both) and Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.
Six-time champion Federer – winner of the Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open titles – is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals and returns to action this week on grass at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. Dominic Thiem stands third in the Emirates ATP Race to London, and is followed in the standings by Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, Djokovic and defending champion Andy Murray.
The Nitto ATP Finals welcomes more than 250,000 fans to The O2 arena each year, as well as generating a global TV viewership of more than 100 million, as the ATP’s best eight singles players and doubles teams compete over eight days at the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world.
