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We will ever see Nadal lift the season-ending championship ATP Finals trophy?

By Myre Aberdan

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 21: Rafael Nadal of Spain looks dejected during his match against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during Day 7 of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 21, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 21: Rafael Nadal of Spain looks dejected during his match against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during Day 7 of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 21, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images) /
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The ATP Finals are almost the pinnacle of the tennis. Besides winning majors, it is the best athlete defeating the best athletes that year. The trophy is one of the grandest you will ever see in professional sport. It is a shiny and tall behemoth. Most have to hold the base while holding the neck of the trophy with the other hand. However, surprisingly, Rafael Nadal has never seemed to win the season ending championship. What is is also surprising is that none of the big 3 have won the trophy in almost 7 years. You will have to go all the way back to 2015 to see a member of the big 3 win the Tour Finals. In that edition. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in straight sets.

For a player with such an incredible resume, t is a real headscratcher that Nadal has never tasted success at this event. 22 grand slams. Olympic gold. World number 1. Yet the ATP Finals is a big omission from his dizzying resume. Of course, the timing of the tournament in the season is a factor-but usually for Nadal, these factors make no difference to him. Regular folk make excuses- but Nadal seems to never have an excuse (case in point, the Australian Open final that he won this year, which he had no right to win- and every excuse for him to lose) The Nitto ATP Finals It is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the tennis calendar, with 1500 points up for offer. That is almost equivalent to winning a major.

Over the past 6 years, next gen have won the tournament numerous times over. Zverev leads the pack, with 2 wins from 2 finals made. Tsitsipas and Medvedev have also won the Tour Finals. Thiem on the other hand, has lost every final he has been a part of.

But with Novak Djokovic unable to enter the US or Canada, and with a no Shanghai Masters taking place this year, it is a golden opportunity for Novak Djokovic to enter the winners circle once again. After the North American hard court swing, Djokovic will be starving for competitive tennis to play. The newly upgraded 500 tournament in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan, is 500 he has already taken. With his limited schedule over the past 3 months, it is not out of the realms of possibility that Djokovic will likely be looking to go all out this year at the ATP Finals.  What a treat that would be. However, with each year rolling in, do you think we will ever see Nadal lift that season-ending trophy? Only time will tell

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