The curtain will soon fall on a year like no other, cut off by five months of competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A final bouquet is expected to properly celebrate the 50 years of the Masters.
A slightly less strict protocol ...
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the event, the Borg and Agassi hens were renamed for the occasion "Toyko 1970" and "London 2020".
As since the resumption of the circuit, the eight players and the two substitutes (Matteo Berrettini and Denis Shapovalov) will live for several days in a sanitary bubble, in a hotel located next to the O2 Arena in London, where has been taking place for several years the masters tournament and for the last time.
The 2021 edition will take place in Turin until 2025. The bubble will in any case be a little less drastic than at Roland-Garros or at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The players thus have the right to bring with them three guides, against only one lately in the other tournaments.
They will only have to undergo a Covid-19 test before the start of the competition.
But if they then show symptoms, they will have to get a PCR test again ... Needless to say that the tournament like the vast majority of post-containment events will take place behind closed doors in the huge O2 Arena will ring more hollow than ever ...
Djokovic a favorite without pressure
As obvious.
The Serbian, king of the indoor, already winner of five Masters including four in London, is favored by the forecasts.
Assured to finish the year world number one, unheard of since Pete Sampras, “Nole” plays without pressure for his last outing of the season.
As a record hunter.
With a sixth title, Djokovic, will equal Federer's title record: “I have often won here, that obviously gives me confidence.
Knowing that I'm going to finish the year No. 1 in the world takes the pressure off me, but it doesn't change my hope of winning every game I play to try to win the title.
I'll have to be at my best to beat them all. ”
Djoko, who has lost only three matches this season, including one on disqualification at the US Open, will obviously have to be wary.
The draw decided: Djokovic is placed in the “Tokyo 1970” group with the recent winner of the Rolex Paris Masters Daniil Medvedev
.
The finalist of the Parisian tournament, Alexander Zverev, defender of Nadal in the semi-final in Paris, is also in this group, as is Diego Schwartzman, who will have a lot of business for his baptism at the ATP Finals.
Especially since Djokovic, natural favorite of this hen, should benefit from the freshness advantage, he who bypassed Bercy.
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Nadal to unlock the counter
In the “London 2020” group, world number 2 Rafael Nadal will have to pull out all the stops against defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and finalist of the last edition Dominic Thiem.
Andrey Rublev, one of the men in form at the end of the season, could also prove to be a formidable opponent for the “Manacor Bull”, finalist in 2010 and 2013, who never won the Masters and whose last title in indoor dates back to ... 2005. Qualified for the 16th consecutive year, a record, the Mallorcan has yet defended his chances only 8 times to the end, withdrawing six times and giving up even after the first match, a defeat against the Belgian David Goffin, in 2017. "Maybe my game is not suitable for indoor," he slipped in the form of a confession.
But this year, no physical problem, a priori: “Last year (elimination in pools), I arrived after an injury and I could not win.
It will be very important to start well and I hope to be ready ”.
A certitude.
Nadal will have to be strong to extricate himself from this hen of "death" with a trap first date against Andrey Rublev.
Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas will open the ball this Sunday at 3 p.m.
Or, the revenge of last year's final won by the Greek, who is led 4 to 3 in his duels with the Austrian.
Despite a foot alert in Vienna, Thiem ensures that he feels 100%: “I sometimes even feel more comfortable on hard than on clay, especially thanks to the results I had at the end of the year. 2019 until today ”.
Confirmation awaited.
READ ALSO - Masters - Nadal: finish the season well
Premieres for Schwartzman and Rublev
Andrey Rublev, barely 23, is participating for the first time in his young career at the Masters, as is the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman who waited until he was 28 to invite himself to the Masters tournament.
If Rublev is very comfortable on hard with a roof under his head (two indoor titles for him this year in Saint Petersburg and Vienna) Diego Schwartzman is above all a landlord, but he ensures: "The good thing is that the surface here is a little slower than in Paris, and I like that better, ”For the two rookies, two major challenges since they face the two best players in the world.
Djokovic for Schwartzman, Nadal for Rublev.
“Against Nole you have to play 100%, the tactics do not really matter, said the Argentinian.
And we must of course hope that he does not play his best tennis to have a chance of winning ”.
“Rafa is one of the best players in history, slips the Russian for his part.
All the pressure will be on him. ”
What if the surprise came from Rublev?
Day 1 program:
Sunday - London Group:
3pm:
Thiem - Tsitsipas
Not before 9pm:
Nadal - Rublev Monday - Tokyo group: 3pm
:
Djokovic - Schwartzman
Not before 9pm:
Medvedev - Zverev
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