The final tournament of the year is here. In the last two months we’ve been treated to the big-time tournaments week in and week out. We started with Cincinnati and the US Open before going on to Rome and the French Open, and finally arriving at the Paris Masters and now the ATP Finals.

That’s a lot of big-time tournaments being crammed into a very short span of time. It’s been amazing to watch though. Let’s take a look at who qualified and their chances.

Novak Djokovic (1)

A season that started with a bang is ending with a big thud. Or is it? Djokovic looked uninterested and tired in his quarterfinal loss to Sonego in Vienna. Since the restart, Djokovic was defaulted from the US Open, and beaten handily by Nadal at the French Open final. It’s very likely Djokovic skipped out on the Paris Masters to reset mentally. If he does reset, look out. He’s the favorite to win. And let’s not forget, no matter what happens Djokovic will be the season ending number one.

Rafa Nadal (2)

As good as Nadal is, and having finished number one five times, he has never won the ATP Finals. He’s never even come close. A handful of years he’s been absent due to injury. Coming off his 13th French Open, and seemingly fresh, Nadal may actually perform to his abilities this time around. If there was any time for him to play great here, this is it. Also, it would be a nice confidence booster to meet Djokovic in the final and beat him. Watch for an inspired Nadal in the final.

Dominic Thiem (3)

Dominic seems to still be on his US Open win hangover. Since his win, he was beat in the Quarterfinals of the French Open by Schwartzman and was manhandled by Rublev in Vienna. The hangover may very well continue into the ATP Finals. There are other players in this field that are looking mighty good right now, and since the US Open, Thiem has just not played enough tennis. I don’t see Thiem qualifying out of his group.

Daniil Medvedev (4)

In my opinion, Medvedev is the second-best hardcourt player in the world. However, since his disappointing semifinal loss at the US Open, he’s really underperformed. That being said, he has slowly gotten himself back in the groove, posting some nice wins at the Paris Masters. If indeed Medvedev is back in the groove, look for him in the semifinals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)

Tsitsipas is the defending champion. He’s on the verge of being a world beater. However, he’s been too inconsistent in his results since the pandemic restart. I don’t see him getting past qualifying when Djokovic, Rafa and the Russians that are firing at all cylinders.

Alex Zverev (6)

Zverev is playing well. In my view, Zverev has as much a chance as Medvedev to reach the semifinals. Since his heartbreaking loss at the US Open, he’s been chipping away, capturing two titles along the way. Don’t bet against Zverev. A semifinal appearance is likely.

Andrey Rublev (7)

Arguably the hottest player on tour right now, Rublev has captured five tournaments this year. That being said, he’s come up short in Masters and Grand Slam tournaments. Rublev is due for a breakthrough. In the last two years, the youngsters have dominated this tournament. Will the trend continue? Rublev is my outside favorite to win this tournament.

Diego Schwartzman (8)

Everyone loves Diego. He’s the scrappy little guy that takes down goliath on a daily basis. This will be his first showing at the ATP Finals, and he should post his first win as well. That being said, that’s as far as he’ll go. There are too many players here that have his number. Nevertheless, a top 8 finish for Schwartzman is well deserved after an amazing season.

Like always, don’t forget to jump on to the TennisPAL app to stay up to date on tennis news, find groups of friends to play with, and get a virtual coach to help with your tennis game.