Five players have already guaranteed their place in the eight-man event with just over a month to go before the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals get underway.
After clinching the Astana Open, which ensures he will place in the top 20, Novak Djokovic was the last to qualify.
Given that he won the Wimbledon Grand Slam this year, that is sufficient for him to advance to the finals.
Only Jimmy Connors (16), Roger Federer (18), and Rafael Nadal (17) have more ATP Finals appearances than Djokovic’s 15 this year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nadal, Casper Ruud, and Carlos Alcaraz have also qualified.
Nadal’s participation in the match, though, is uncertain because he hasn’t played since Federer’s farewell doubles match,
at the Laver Cup in early September when he lost in the fourth round of the US Open.
Additionally, it has been claimed that over the weekend, his wife Mary Perello gave birth to their first child.
Therefore, there are still three or four openings in Turin.
Who might make it to the ATP finals?
This season, there is still a tonne of points available.
Prior to the ATP 500 tournaments in Basel and Vienna, there are currently two weeks of ATP 250 competition.
The ATP Finals, which begin on November 13, then the final ATP 1000 of the year in Paris.
The ATP 250 tournaments only award 250 points to the champion, 150 to the runner-up,
and 90 to the semi-finalists, therefore they don’t have much of an impact.
But Basel, Vienna, and Paris have more options.
- In Vienna and Basel, there are three different levels of points: semi-finals (180), runners-up (300), and winners (500).
- Paris offers the following points: 360 for the semi-finals, 600 for second place, and 1000 for the champion.
Daniil Medvedev presently holds the sixth qualifying slot with the top four in the rankings having qualified,
along with Djokovic, who is also going to Turin.
Despite the fact that he withdrew from his Astana Open semifinal match against Djokovic due to injury, he may still play.
- “Super pumped” for the season finale, Djokovic
- O’Sullivan likens the crowd in Hong Kong to that at the ATP Finals
Medvedev appears fairly certain to qualify if he plays throughout the upcoming month-
He presently leads Andrey Rublev, who is directly next to him in the standings, by 320 points.
He also appears to be in position because Taylor Fritz is 450 points behind him.
Fritz’s victory at the Japan Open gave him a major boost in his aspirations.
Standings for the week beginning October 10 for the Race to Turin
- 1. Carlos Alcaraz (qualified) – 6,460 points
- 2. Rafael Nadal (qualified) – 5,810 points
- 3. Casper Ruud (qualified) – 4,930 points
- 4. Stefanos Tsitsipas (qualified) – 4,885 points
- 5. Daniil Medvedev – 3,555 points
- 6. Andrey Rublev – 3,235 points
- 7. Taylor Fritz – 2,885 points
- 8. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 2,860 points
- 9. Hubert Hurkacz – 2,725 points
- 10. Novak Djokovic (qualified) – 2,720 points
- 11. Alexander Zverev – 2,700 points
- 12. Cameron Norrie – 2,365 points
- 13. Jannik Sinner – 2,310 points
- 14. Pablo Carreno Busta – 2,270 points
- 15. Matteo Berrettini – 2,225 points
Fritz now holds the last qualifying berth in the standings if Nadal competes, although his position is far from guaranteed.
Only 25 points separate Fritz from Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Hubert Hurkacz is not far behind.
Even though they still have over 500 points to make up over the next two weeks, Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie are still in the running.
Norrie declared at the Laver Cup that he intended to push himself hard to qualify for the ATP Finals,
due to a positive Covid-19 test, only to withdraw from the Korea Open and subsequently skip the Japan Open.
The next week, he’ll perform in Stockholm, Vienna, and Paris.
This week, who is playing where?
The two players in action this week with the top rankings are Rublev and Auger-Aliassime.
In Gijon, where the ATP Tour is making its debut, Rublev is the top seed,
while at the Firenze Open in Florence, Auger-Aliassime is in contention.
At the Firenze Open, Matteo Berrettini, who is currently in 15th place, is also competing.
And a solid performance on his home court might put him in the running for the ATP Finals. He presently trails Fritz by 660 points.
Who, following his victory in Tokyo, is returning to action in Stockholm next week.
The ATP finals: Will Nadal play?
Right now, it’s unclear if Nadal will play any more matches this year.
He claimed that he wanted some time alone to “address things” after losing to Frances Tiafoe at the US Open.
I had been struggling with a stomach problem all summer.
He only participated in one game in the Laver Cup, possibly with that in mind.
He presently trails Alcaraz by 930 points.
“It feels good to cry sometimes“
– Together, Federer and Nadal think back on an emotional night.
CAN NORRIE GET INTO THE FINALS?
Norrie stands a solid chance of earning a spot in the ATP Finals.
He replaced Tsitsipas on the Turin court last year and lost a couple of his matches to Djokovic and Ruud.
However, if he has a strong finish this season, he might be among the top eight.
To be competitive going into the Paris Masters, Norrie will probably need to finish high in Stockholm or Vienna, which is the final chance to earn race points.
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