The ATP Finals draw in Turin has been announced, revealing that Carlos Alcaraz is placed in a slightly more challenging group than Novak Djokovic.
There are, of course, no easy draws at the ATP Finals, but Alcaraz will have to get past former winners Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev in his group.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has the inexperienced pair of Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune. They will provide a seriously stern test for the Serbian, although there is a lot less big-occasion experience there that he will need to combat.
Stefanos Tsitsipas completes Djokovic’s group, while Andrey Rublev has landed in Alcaraz’s.
ATP Finals draw
Green Group
Novak Djokovic (1)
Jannik Sinner (4)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (6)
Holger Rune (8)
Red Group
Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Daniil Medvedev (3)
Andrey Rublev (5)
Alexander Zverev (7)
How important are the ATP Finals?
That probably depends who you ask in truth. It is widely accepted that they are the third biggest honour in men’s tennis behind majors and reaching world number one.
Certainly in terms of ranking points, they sit squarely between Masters 1000 events and Grand Slams, which probably reveals how the ATP ranks them.
However, Stefanos Tsitsipas recently caused a stir by claiming that the ATP Finals was actually the biggest honour in tennis.
“It’s a whole celebration,” he said. “The ATP Finals is a commemoration and celebration of the best of the best in our sport.”
“We all gather together and we get to play against each other and focus on the fact that we are the best in the world trying to fight for this mega trophy, which is a grand prize in our sport. It means a lot.
“I would consider it probably a bigger thing than a Slam, honestly. It has big prestige and it’s a very valuable asset if you’re able to conquer and win it.”
It should be noted, of course, that Tsitsipas has not yet won a Grand Slam, but he has won the ATP Finals, so his analysis could contain a certain degree of self-promotion.
