Will Novak Djokovic face Rafael Nadal at the 2022 ATP Finals?

Will Novak Djokovic face Rafael Nadal at the 2022 ATP Finals?

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

The last tournament of the season- the 2022 ATP Finals is around the corner and the groups for the same are out. After World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament due to an abdomen injury, Rafael Nadal enters the tournament as the top seed despite being terribly out of form and match practice.

Nadal will headline the Green Group along with Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Taylor Fritz while 5-time champion Novak Djokovic is placed in the Red Group with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev. Once again, despite the star-studded field, all eyes will be on Nadal and Djokovic.

YouTube video

The Nadal-Djokovic rivalry is the biggest in tennis history. The duo has faced each other 59 times in which Djokovic marginally leads the H2H 30-29. They last met at the 2022 Roland Garros quarterfinal where Djokovic lost to Nadal in 4 sets. They came ever so close to facing each other at the Wimbledon final this year but Nadal withdrew from the semifinal and Djokovic went on to win the title.

FS Video

Also Read: “It was a hard day,” Rafael Nadal recalls himself crying during Roger Federer’s ‘EMOTIONAL’ farewell at the Laver Cup

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could only meet in the knockouts at the ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at ATP Finals 2022
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at ATP Finals 2022

At the ATP Finals, Djokovic and Nadal are placed in opposite groups, so they won’t be meeting each other in the group stage. However, it is very likely that they will face each other in the knockouts- the semifinals or the final. If Nadal finishes at the top of the Green Group and Djokovic finishes second in the Red Group, they will meet in the first semifinal.

If Nadal finishes second in the Green Group while Djokovic tops the Red Group, they will meet in the second semifinal. If both men finish No.1 in their respective groups or finish No.2 in their respective groups, they won’t meet in the semifinals. They will have to win their semifinal matches and will hence meet in the final.

However, if either of them fails to finish inside the Top 2 of their respective groups, they won’t qualify for the semifinals and hence, in that case, there will be no Nadal-Djokovic clash in Turin.

Also Read: “He’s a throwback to the days of Bjorn Borg,” Stefanos Tsitsipas earns special praise from General Manager of the United Cup

Also Read: Ana Ivanovic declares Novak Djokovic the GOAT citing which ability of his makes him better than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal