Zverev, Rune secure final two spots for the ATP Finals in Turin
Zverev is a two-time champion at the ATP Finals while Rune is making his debut in the season finale
The field for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin is set with Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune securing the final two spots at the end of day’s play at the ongoing Paris Masters on Friday.
With other Turin contenders, Hubert Hurkacz and Alex de Minaur both losing their quarter-final matches on Friday, Zverev and Rune joined the Turin field, which already includes Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Hurkacz and De Minaur needed to continue their path in Paris to maintain their chances alive, ideally until the final, but they lost respectively against Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev, now semi-finalists at the RPM.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the first to confirm his place at the ATP Final this week in Paris. Casper Ruud – who was runner-up in 2022 – was the main figure to lose his place this week in Paris, along with Taylor Fritz, semi-finalist in 2022 and Ben Shelton.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was in the line-up last year, had lost any chance even before the start of the tournament, while Rafael Nadal has not played on the Tour since January this year due to injury.
Four players of the 2023 field were already there in 2022 : Djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rublev. Alcaraz and Zverev were qualified last year but did not play due to injuries. Sinner and Rune will play their first ATP Finals.
With Zverev joining the field, there will be four former champions at the 2023 edition of the elite competition. Djokovic is a six-time champion, tied with Roger Federer for most titles at the season-ending event; Zverev is a two-time champion, most recently in 2021; Tsitsipas won the title in 2019; and Medvedev in 2020.
The tournament will also see Djokovic aiming to lock in the year-end world No 1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time. If the Serb manages to do so, he will become the first player in tennis history (men’s or women’s) to reach 400 weeks as world No 1 on the Monday after the tournament ends.
The doubles field in Turin has also been confirmed. Ivan Dodig/ Austin Krajicek, Wesley Koolhof/ Neal Skupski, Rohan Bopanna/ Matthew Ebden, Marcel Granollers/ Horacio Zeballos, Santiago Gonzalez/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Rajeev Ram/ Joe Salisbury, Maximo Gonzalez/ Andres Molteni and Rinky Hijikata/ Jason Kubler will battle for the doubles title in Turin. The tournament runs from November 12 to 19.