Business Day

Wimbledon repeat on the menu

- Agency Staff London

Spectators will be hoping for a minirepeat of the 2019 epic Wimbledon final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer after the two tennis legends were drawn in the same group for next week’s climax to the season, the ATP Finals.

Djokovic, who could finish the week as world No 1, and Federer fought out a thrilling five-set final at Wimbledon with the Serbian coming from a break down in the final set to win it 7-6 (7/5) 1-6 7-6 (7/4) 4-6, 13-12 (7/3) in what was at four hours and 57 minutes the longest final in the tournament’s history.

Their group clash in London will only be the best of three sets

Austria’s two-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem and Italian Matteo Berrettini make up the quartet.

World No 1 Rafael Nadal is in a group with this year’s US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Germany’s Alexander Zverev.

Nadal declared himself fit for the finals on Tuesday after he pulled out of last week’s Paris Masters semifinals a scan revealed a “slight strain to the left abdominal”.

Nadal had still replaced Djokovic as world No1 but the Serbian can reclaim it.

Djokovic will take top spot if he wins two group-stage matches and reaches the final and if the 33-year-old Spaniard does not play or fails to win a round-robin match.

Djokovic will also finish the year as No 1 if he wins the tournament and Nadal does not reach the semifinals.

The ATP finals take place from November 10-17. Nadal has never won the tournament, losing in the final to Roger Federer in 2010 and Djokovic in 2013./AFP

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