Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS
RAFA NADAL moaned he always plays Roger Federer on hard courts before bidding to win his first ATP Finals title.
The French and US Open winner has won six titles to become the oldest man to end the year as world No.1.
But the King of Clay, 31, has lost all four matches on hard courts to Federer this season and not beaten his great rival since the 2014 Australian Open semi-finals.
The Swiss superstar, 36, skipped the clay-court season to prepare for Wimbledon – and is considering doing the same in 2018.
Like last year with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the world’s top two are on collision course at The O2.
But Nadal, who has never won this event played on an indoor hard court, said: “It’s true that never winning is always in my mind.
“At the same time it’s always in my mind that I have qualified 13 times and have never played on a different surface to this one.
“I don’t need to beat Roger to be in good confidence for next year. If I play him here, it would be great to finish the year and to give me another chance.
“You cannot forget we played all the time on surfaces that he likes more than me. Just accept that and just find different ways to approach the match. If that happens and I am healthy enough, I hope to have my chances.”
Nadal pulled out of last week’s Paris Masters with a right knee injury – and has withdrawn from this event five times, including last year with a wrist injury.
“I’ll try my best,” he said. “When you have problems with physical issues you cannot predict what’s going to happen. If something negative happens, you accept it and go back home.”
Six-time champion Federer, who plays the first singles against Jack Sock tomorrow said it would be a “blow” if Nadal scratched.
“He’s the No.1 in the world, had the best season and is a superstar of our game so it would be a blow if he pulled out.”