Old guard are still the ones to beat at the ATP Finals
TIM HENMAN has admitted that he was “naive” to write off Roger Federer at the Nitto ATP Finals and insisted the Swiss is now favourite to win his seventh ATP title.
The world No 3 lost his opening match to Dominic Thiem. But the 38-year-old then stormed back to beat Matteo Berrettini and then Novak Djokovic to reach to the last four of the tournament for a 16th time.
Despite his age, the 20-time Grand Slam winner showed he is still the man to beat in an indoor event.
“He’s the favourite now,” said Henman. “It was an amazing show against Djokovic. I was disappointed that we sat in the commentary box and tried to write him off. On an indoor court that’s playing a bit quick, that’s borderline naive.
“Every time he got the chance to pull the trigger from the baseline, he did.
“One of his very best performances I’ve seen. He will take huge confidence from that.”
Djokovic’s defeat guaranteed that Rafa Nadal would be the oldest-ever year-end world No1 at 33.And the French and
US Open champion celebrated by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas here yesterday.
Serving and attacking superbly, Nadal did not face a break point for the 128th time in his career as he won 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.
The Spaniard had a fraught start to the spring when he pulled out of IndianWells with a knee injury and he considered ending his season in May as he lost in the semi-finals of clay-court events in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.And he arrived here with the stomach strain that forced him out of the Paris Masters.
“I am super happy,” said Nadal, who was given the year-end No1 trophy after his win. “After all the things I went through with injuries, I never thought at 33-and-a-half I’d have this trophy in my hands again.
“It’s emotional for me.Without my team and family, this would be impossible.
“They encourage me to keep going.This is an achievement for the whole year. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the fans around the world.”