The ATP Final Tournament kicks off in Turin on Sunday 14 November. The quintessence of the whole season, a test of strength in matches where there are no weak opponents. Well, almost never happens … “MK-Sport” will tell you in opposition with whom Daniil Medvedev will defend last year’s title and why this year’s tournament is called “the weakest in history.”
What, where and when
November 14-21, Turin. The final tournament just this year moved from London, where it had been held for 12 long years, to an Italian city.
The Pala Alpitour arena, built for the 2006 Turin Olympic hockey tournament (so bitter for Russia!), Will feature the eight best tennis players right here and now who have scored the most points in the championship race of the season: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev , Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, Kasper Ruud, Huber Gurkach.
The lot divided this magnificent eight into two groups – green and red. Green is headed by Djokovic, and Tsitsipas, Rublev and Ruud will play with him.
Red – Medvedev, who will meet with Zverev, Berrettini and Gurkach.
What to expect from Russians?
We, of course, expect victory from Dani Medvedev, especially since he is the current winner of the tournament. But since, in addition to Dani, three more of those who won the World Tour Finals in different years (Novak – five times, Zverev – in 2018, Tsitsipas – in 2019) came to Turin, anything can happen.
However, now the question, like almost the entire second half of the season, is: Medvedev or Djokovic.
Andrei Rublev at the Final is also not a newbie. But if last time he did not leave the group, beating Dominic Tim , but not coping with Rafael Nadal and Tsitsipas, then this time he says that “he will feel freer than last year.”
“I took into account the mistakes of the last season. Let’s see if I am smart enough to achieve more, ”the ATP press service quotes Andrey.
If you look at previous tournaments, Medvedev looks, of course, fresher than Rublev, who by the end of the season, judging by his unsuccessful performances in recent tournaments (Indian Well – the third round, the Kremlin Cup – the second round, performance at the Kremlin Cup, St. Petersburg – the quarterfinals , Paris – second circle), clearly tired.
A good irritant that can shake Andrei can be a meeting with Djokovic. The fate of them, oddly enough, never pushed them on the court. And this can be an advantage for Rublev. As Nikolai Davydenko says , who until last year was the only Russian to win the World Tour Finals, Andrei may surprise, because the Serb has never seen him in front of him on the other side of the net. However, this advantage can work in the opposite direction.
Strange newbies
Kasper Ruud and Hubert Gurkach are having a hard time. They will have to prove in Turin, and especially in the next season, that they were not here by chance, and only thanks to the injuries of Nadal and Tim, well, this is if Roger Federer is not remembered.
The 22-year-old Norwegian has won five titles this season, but they are all ATP 250 categories. He did not rise above the fourth round on the Helmets (325 points out of 8000 thousand possible).
The 24-year-old Pole took only three titles in the season, but one of them at the Masters in Miami. Yes, and at Wimbledon reached right up to the semifinals. However, he himself says: “At the beginning of the season, I would not have believed that I would play in Turin. It was only after the Miami title that I got up in the Race and started thinking about it. I understood that there was some chance, and that motivated me. “
And it seems like we can talk about the progress of the younger generation, about a large number of such strong tennis players, but the tournament is already called “the weakest in history.”
Swiss Mark Rosse (1992 Olympic champion) is unhappy with the line-up of the World Tour Finals. “The audience wants to see Nadal, Federer, Murray , Wawrinka , not the guys who made their way through small tournaments. Now we are far from the powerful line-up that has gathered in London in recent years. To be honest, I don’t remember that there was such a weak line-up at the Final, ”Marca quotes Rosse.
Points and prize money
The total prize fund in 2021 will be $ 7,250,000, which will be distributed as follows:
just for participation, a player can receive $ 173,000, even if he loses all three matches in a group,
each victory in the group mast – $ 173,000,
victory in the semifinals – 530,000,
victory in the tournament – 1,094,000,
undefeated champion – 2,316,000.
The undefeated champion will also earn 1500 leaderboard points. A victory in a group match brings 200 points, in a semi-final – 400 points, just a victory in a final – 500 points.
The first matches of the Final Tournament can be seen as early as Sunday, November 14th. Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Gurkach will play no earlier than 16.00 Moscow time, the second singles match will take place no earlier than 23.00, when other members of the Red Group Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini will meet.
