Watch five of the best shots as Jack Sock beats Marin Cilic to boost his hopes of reaching semi-finals at the ATP Finals in London.
World number one Rafael Nadal says he hopes to be fit for the start of the new season after pulling out of the ATP Finals.
Roger Federer looks to keep the ball rolling on Tuesday evening at the ATP World Tour Finals but may have his work cut out against …
Deal across ATP World Tour and Nitto ATP Finals through to 2020
The ATP and Rolex have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership. The agreement sees Rolex continue as the Official Timekeeper of the ATP World Tour, as well as the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 in London, through to 2020.
Rolex has a long-standing relationship with tennis, promoting precision, excellence and innovation in the sport for more than 40 years. The Swiss watch brand is a sponsor of many of the leading tournaments, and is proud to count Roger Federer, the longest-standing No.1 in the history of the sport, among its family of Testimonees.
Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “Rolex is a brand that is steeped in the history of professional tennis. They have been a valued partner of our season-ending finale since 2005, and to the ATP World Tour since 2013, and their commitment to our sport speaks volumes. We’re delighted to extend our successful partnership.”
David Goffin claimed the biggest victory of his career on Monday night, upsetting World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 to start his 2017 Nitto ATP Finals.
The seventh seed overcame seeing four match points come and go in the second set, as Nadal saved them all on his racquet – 4-5, 30/40 and three consecutively from 0/40, 5-6 down.
The Belgian pressured the Spaniard’s serve, but the World No. 1 played aggressively each time, including at 15/40, 5-6, when he smacked a 93 mph crosscourt backhand winner.
In the third set, however, Goffin’s persistence paid off. Serving for the match, he hit an ace down the T, his 14th ace of the match.
“It’s the best win of my career, for sure, to beat Rafa. But, yeah, I saw that he was struggling a little bit with his movement on the court, and his knee was suffering a little bit,” Goffin said.
“It was tough even if he was not moving 100 per cent. He was hitting the ball really hard. It was not easy. It’s never easy to finish a match, to finish a set against him. Even if I lost four match points in the second, I had no regret. I kept going in the third.”
Goffin celebrated his first victory against a World No. 1 and the fifth Top 10 win of his season (5-9). More than half of his career wins against the elite group in the Emirates ATP Rankings (9-37) have come this season, his best on the ATP World Tour. Goffin qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, and has now begun the season-ending championship with the best win of his career.
“I’m really happy that I found my level tonight. That’s a good match to start the competition. It gives me some confidence for the next one,” said Goffin, who played one match last year at The O2 after taking Gael Monfils’ place during group play.
Watch Full Match Replays
The Belgian has a favourable FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Group Pete Sampras competitor Dominic Thiem (6-3). Goffin trails Grigor Dimitrov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 1-3.
“I have to continue to play like that, to continue to play my game, to stay focused on what I have to do on the court. I think I was feeling the ball really well tonight. Now the next match will be tough. Every match is tough here,” Goffin said.
Nadal, however, has cut short his Nitto ATP Finals. The Spaniard has withdrawn from the season-ending championships due to a right knee injury, and his countryman Pablo Carreno Busta will take his place in Group Pete Sampras.
“My season is finished. I had the commitment with the event, with the city, with myself. I tried hard. I did the thing that I had to do to try to be ready to play. But I am really not ready to play,” Nadal said.
Nadal was playing in his first match since withdrawing before the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals on 3 November. The Spaniard has won 75 tour-level titles, including 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns, but he has never won the Nitto ATP Finals. The Spaniard, who will finish as year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, finished runner-up at the season finale in 2010 and 2013.
Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal from the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday night after a 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 loss to David Goffin in his opening round-robin match.
The Spaniard will be replaced in the event by his compatriot and first alternate Pablo Carreno Busta, who will take Nadal’s spot in Group Pete Sampras. Nadal withdrew due to a right knee injury just two weeks after pulling out of the Rolex Paris Masters, also because of his knee.
“I had the commitment with the event, with the city, with myself. I tried hard. I did the things that I had to do to try to be ready to play,” Nadal said. “But I am really not ready to play. I really fought a lot during the match, but knowing that [there] probably was a big chance to be the last match of the season.”
Nadal says that he had no choice, and knew during the match against Goffin that he would not be able to continue in the tournament.
“It was not a decision at all,” Nadal said. “It’s about the pain. I cannot hold with enough power to keep playing. I tried, but [it] seriously was miracle to be very close in the score during the match.”
| ATP Finals | |
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| Venue: The 02 Arena, London Dates: 12-19 November | |
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Belgian seventh seed David Goffin upset world number one Rafael Nadal on day two at the ATP Finals in London.
Goffin, who made his debut in 2016 as an injury replacement, won 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 in his first match as an official qualifier at the tour finale.
Nadal said before the tournament his knee was “not perfect” but he fought hard against an impressive Goffin.
Grigor Dimitrov earlier beat Dominic Thiem 6-3 5-7 7-5 in the opening round-robin match in the Pete Sampras Group.
The Bulgarian sixth seed admitted he had felt “pretty nervous” after seeing off Austrian fourth seed Thiem in three dramatic sets on his ATP Finals debut.
Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev won the opening matches in the Boris Becker Group on Sunday.
The pair will meet in Tuesday’s second singles match at 20:00 GMT, after Marin Cilic plays Jack Sock at 14:00.
Nadal, 31, had been determined to try and compete in London despite a knee injury that saw him pull out of the Paris Masters, but the Spaniard was clearly struggling in the closing stages against Goffin.
The Belgian made most of the running, with his effortless backhand down the line the decisive shot, but double faults at key times betrayed the nerves he felt trying to claim a first win over the 16-time Grand Slam champion.
Nadal was not at his best but his competitive spirit almost carried him through as he converted all four break points that came his way, while saving eight of 13 on his own serve.
After twice seeing leads disappear in the first set, Goffin edged the tie-break and appeared to be heading for victory with a break for 5-3 in the second.
However, a sixth double fault of the day saw him hand back the advantage, and Nadal then played his best tennis of the night to roar back from 0-40 in the next game and race through a second tie-break.
With two hours on the clock, a gripping final set loomed, but Nadal was visibly wincing early in the decider and Goffin moved into a 4-1 lead.
Still Nadal refused to submit, clawing his way back to 4-3 down as coaches Carlos Moya and Toni Nadal watched with concern from the sidelines, but at the second time of asking – and on his fifth match point – Goffin finally sealed victory with an ace.
“It was a tough fight until the end. Rafa is one of the strongest players mentally on the tour,” said Goffin.
“I am so happy to finally find the key to win this match. It is so special to do it here.
“I don’t know how I picked myself up after losing the four match points. I had no regrets and I just wanted to keep going and try to enjoy every point.”
Miles MacLagan, former coach of Andy Murray, on 5 live sports extra
“Nadal is not here to take part, he wants to add this title. He’s a competitive player, he enjoys being amongst it.
“He has an injury I’m sure he’s been told won’t get any worse in the long term; I hope we see him again here this week but this a problem that’s clearly been there a long time and won’t clear up in two days.”
Dimitrov, 26, just about held his nerve to win a gripping battle of the one-handed backhands against Thiem, who is playing in the Finals for the second year running.
It was the Bulgarian who had the edge for most of the contest, breaking serve once to win the first set and not facing a break point until the end of the second.
However, Thiem took his chance in the 12th game to draw level and force a third set, before breaking back when Dimitrov served for the match at 5-4 in the decider.
Dimitrov missed a chance to earn two match points when he failed to challenge a ball that had missed the baseline, but the former junior Wimbledon champion recovered his poise to break for a third time in game 11, eventually converting his third match point after two hours and 19 minutes.
“I’m not going to lie – I was pretty nervous, my first match out here,” said Dimitrov.
“I’m just very grateful to win that match, especially in that manner. It’s never easy to come out here and play for the first time.”
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