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Does the big tennis show begin? In London, this is a record-breaking and perhaps Nadal’s last hope

Gonzalo Fuentes, Reuters

After a long year, punctuated by grand slams, the Champions Tournament is a bit of Cinderella. This is the last time it has been played in London and the motivation, hand in hand, is also the health of the players after a short season than ever before, so Adieu will take place in the city above the Thames, which should bring beautiful experiences.

The predatory youth has already surpassed the experienced generation, at least in terms of the number of participants in the final enterprise. Rublyov, Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas on the one hand. Rafael Nadal and Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic at the other pole. Add to them the middle stream – the debutant of this tournament Diego Schwartzman and the Austrian winner of the US Open Dominic Thiem – it is the composition that shows that there is a change of guards.

Will Nole win for the sixth time?

Novak Djokovic’s form is largely unknown. He presented himself in the hall only at the tournament in Vienna, where he lost a bit of shame in the semifinals with the Italian Soneg. However, motivation also played a role in the mentioned match, because the Serb secured the position of the world number one even before the match at the end of the year. In addition, Djokovic manages to prepare for major tournaments, wants to attack records and has even triumphed five times at the Champions Tournament. If he could win again, he would equal Roger Federer’s record of winning six times.

Serb Novak Djokovic during the quarterfinals in Vienna with Italian Lorenzo Soneg.

Lisi Niesner, Reuters

However, it will be extremely difficult already in the group. He should beat the Argentine outsider Schwartzman, who prefers clay courts. But then comes a much heavier pair of nuts. Recent finalists from the well-attended Bercy Hall in Paris – German Alexander Zverev and Russian Daniil Medvedev. Both are riding a great wave, the tall German, despite the troubles in his personal life, won two consecutive tournaments in Cologne. Medvedev again took control of Paris. Even in this group called Tokyo 1970, bread can be broken.

Nadal will try again for the title he lacks in his collection

He has won everything in the tennis world. With one exception. Indoor conditions simply do not prove a native of Manacor. He broke through twice to the final, but never won. And as he gets older, his chances in a fast indoor environment diminish.

Rafael Nadal at the tournament in Paris.

Gonzalo Fuentes, Reuters

The only test he took before London didn’t work out well. In Paris, he lost 2: 0 in the semifinals with Alexander Zverev. He had already had big problems and was on the verge of elimination with his compatriot Lopez and another Spaniard Busta.

His group is probably more passable, but on the other hand there is no Schwartzman-type outsider in it. Debutant at the tournament Andrej Rubljov is experiencing a breakthrough year. Even in a shortened season, he managed to win five tournaments, including two indoor. The only thing he’s lacking a bit so far is a big success at the grand slam.

Dominic Thiem has also had a fantastic year. He won the final fight for the first time in one of the Big Four tournaments, triumphing at the US Open. But then his performance curve went down, with minor injuries playing a role. However, the representative of our southern neighbors is a universal player, and especially after proving that he can win a big tournament, we cannot underestimate him. Like the last participant in the tournament, Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Dominic Thiem played the quarterfinals at the home tournament in Vienna.

Lisi Niesner, Reuters

The Greek tennis player defends last year’s surprising title at the O2 Arena. In the final, he broke Dominic Thiem in a breathtaking ending. He is not doing so well this year, although the semifinals at the French Open can definitely not be considered a failure. But the Greek is struggling a bit with the endings of the matches. In particular, he showed a total setback, which will happen to players of his level once in a lifetime, at the US Open in a duel with Borná Čorič. He did not manage close battles with the Frenchman Humbert or the Russian Rublyov.

Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas said goodbye to the tournament in Paris unexpectedly soon – illustration photo.

Charles Platiau, Reuters

The spectacular performance starts on Sunday and, in addition to the single spider, it also offers a doubles doubles tournament as standard. There is definitely something to look forward to …

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