FEDERER WILL FACE ZVEREV IN ATP EVENT
SIX-TIME champion Roger Federer was paired in the same group as German debutant Alexander Zverev for next week’s ATP Tour Finals when the draw was made in host city London yesterday.
World No 1 Rafael Nadal, who hopes to recover from a knee injury for the seasonending showpiece, heads the other group and is due to face Belgian David Goffin, Bulgarian debutant Grigor Dimitrov and Austrian Dominic Thiem.
Also in the Pete Sampras group with Federer is Croatian Marin Cilic, the man he beat in this year’s Wimbledon final, and American Jack Sock, who crept into the tournament after winning the Paris Masters.
Zverev, 20, has taken men’s tennis by storm this year, rocketing up to No 3 in the world rankings after winning five titles, including two Masters 1000 events.
“It’s an honour to play in London, it will be my first time and hopefully not my last,” Zverev said in Milan, where he took part in an exhibition match at the Next Gen Finals, having dropped out to concentrate on the London event.
“I will try to prepare myself as well as I can and try to win many matches there.”
Zverev is one of three firsttimers, with Dimitrov finally qualifying after a long prediction that he would become a regular member of the elite.
Sock is the first American to qualify for the London event since Mardy Fish, in 2011.
Goffin has qualified for the first time as well, although the Belgian played a match as an alternate last year.
The draw, which took place on BBC Radio, was delayed because former ace Boris Becker, whom Nadal’s group is named after, was held up by traffic on his way to the studio.
Several big names are missing this year through injury, including last year’s winner, Andy Murray, four-time London winner Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.
The draw (with the players’ world rankings) is: Pete Sampras Group: Roger Federer, Switzerland (2); Alexander Zverev, Germany (3); Marin Cilic, Croatia (5); and Jack Sock, US (9). Boris Becker Group: Rafael Nadal, Spain (1); Dominic Thiem, Austria (4), Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria (6); and David Goffin, Belgium (8).