Rafael Nadal is not certain he will return to his very best form and full fitness in 2023 – but he has no doubt he will give it his very best shot.

The veteran Spaniard went down 6-3 6-4 to Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday at the ATP Finals, his second defeat in the round-robin group stage and a fourth consecutive loss overall.

This season began in stunning style for Nadal as he won the Australian Open and followed that with a 14th French Open title, taking his tally of grand slams to 22 - a record haul for a male singles player.

However, Nadal has a serious ongoing foot problem, and the 36-year-old had to withdraw from Wimbledon prior to a semi-final against Nick Kyrgios after suffering a torn abdomen.

Injuries have prevented him playing a full season, and he was clearly not at his best against Auger-Aliassime, who has Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, on his coaching team.

Asked whether he will take an optimistic or doubtful approach into next season, Nadal said: "You can be both ways. You can be optimistic and have doubts. Why not?

"For me the doubts, as I said plenty of times, are very good in this world. People who don't have doubts, it is probably because they are too arrogant, from my point of view.

"If you are not optimistic or positive, it's impossible that things are going to go the proper way. That's my point of view and that's my approach."

He will hope to make a strong start to the new campaign in Australia, and will put in the work to give himself every chance of showing up in shape to win again.

"I just need to recover all these positive feelings and all this confidence and all this strong mentality that I need to be at the level that I want to be," Nadal said.

"And I don't know if I'm going to reach that level again. But what I don't have any doubt about is that I'm going to die for it."

He will round off his round-robin campaign against Casper Ruud in Turin on Thursday, facing the young Norwegian he crushed in the French Open final.

Once he returns to his Mallorca home, Nadal can look at what lies ahead.

"What can happen in Australia? I don't know. It's a month and a half away," Nadal said.

"What can I do to give myself a positive chance to have a good season next year? As always, be humble enough to accept that I have a challenge in front, that the last six months have been very difficult for me.

"I need to work more and I need to recover things that I lost because I was not able to practice the proper way, I was not able to compete the proper way.

"What I have to do now is come back, work hard, stay positive every single day, accept the challenge, accept that I am going to need to suffer a little bit more."

Rafael Nadal lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime for the first time as his poor run of results continued at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he looks set for a group-stage exit.

In the Green Group, Auger-Aliassime ran out a 6-3 6-4 winner over the 22-time grand slam champion, whose uncle Toni Nadal is on his opponent's coaching team.

Nadal came to Italy with a chance to snatch the year-end number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz but needed to win this tournament, and defeats to Taylor Fritz and now Auger-Aliassime have almost quashed that prospect.

On Tuesday, the 36-year-old suffered a fourth successive singles defeat, which began with a US Open last-16 exit to Frances Tiafoe and was followed at the Paris Masters by a loss to Tommy Paul.

Auger-Aliassime was beaten in his opening match by Casper Ruud, but he came from 40-0 behind to break for a 5-3 lead in the opener of this contest, before serving out for the set comfortably enough. A break early in the second set put him on course to wrap up the match, with Nadal struggling to make an impact.

This was just a third meeting between Nadal and Auger-Aliassime on the ATP Tour, with Nadal winning both previous contests, including an epic five-set contest in the French Open fourth round in May.

The result this time, however, means Nadal has lost consecutive matches in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals for the first time since 2011. With a 0-2 record, his only remaining hope of progress hinged on Ruud losing to Fritz later on Tuesday, which would offer Nadal a slim hope going into his final Green Group match against Ruud.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Auger-Aliassime - 15/2
Nadal - 1/4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Auger-Aliassime - 32/2
​Nadal - 13/4

BREAK POINTS WON

Auger-Aliassime - 2/4
​Nadal - 0/5

Novak Djokovic begun his ATP Finals campaign with a straight set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Turin, ending the Greek's hopes of finishing the year ranked number one.

The five-time champion emerged as a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victor to go top of the Red Group above Andrey Rublev, the Russian having defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev earlier on Monday.

Tsitsipas needed to win the title in Turin without losing in order to dethrone the injured Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings, but now cannot catch the Spaniard.

Djokovic did not face a break point as he served superbly in the opening set, not allowing the second seed a look-in after breaking in the first game of the match.

Tsitsipas responded well in the second set, firing down seven aces and winning 88 per cent of points behind his first serve, but seventh seed Djokovic stood firm to take the set to a tie-break.

A battling Tsitsipas fought back from 5-1 down to 5-4 in the breaker, but Djokovic did not falter, coming up with a powerful serve that his opponent was unable to return to make a winning start in his quest for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Tsitsipas - 9/0

Djokovic - 3/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Tsitsipas - 24/0

Djokovic - 33/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Tsitsipas - 0/1

Djokovic - 1/2

Andrey Rublev opened his ATP Finals campaign with a gripping 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 7-6 (9-7) success over compatriot Daniil Medvedev in Turin.

The sixth seed came from behind to beat his fellow Russian in a match lasting over two and a half hours to put himself top of the Red Group, with the pool's other two players, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, playing later on Monday.

Rublev got off to a fast start, securing a break to put himself 4-1 up in the first set. However, Medvedev saw off two set points to take it to a tie-break, before fending off five more set points on his way to taking an extraordinary opener.

World number seven Rublev hit back with two breaks in a strong second set to level the match, Medvedev not helping himself with six double faults.

Medvedev, the fourth seed, cut down the errors in a tight final set that did not see a solitary break of serve as a tie-break was required to settle an absorbing contest.

But after a remarkable final stand from Medvedev that saw him save four match points, Rublev finally got over the line make a winning start.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Medvedev - 24/8

Rublev - 9/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Medvedev - 46/26

Rublev - 38/24

BREAK POINTS WON

Medvedev - 1/2

Rublev - 3/9

Taylor Fritz stunned Rafael Nadal on his ATP Finals debut on Sunday, producing a powerful display to beat the 22-time grand slam winner 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in the duo's group-stage opener.

The American put Nadal under pressure from the off in Turin, failing to give up a single break point as he dominated on his own serve to take the 36-year-old to a tie-break in the opening set.

Nadal allowed Fritz to seize the initiative with a double fault at the start of that tie-break, and the American grasped his opportunity by clinching the first set with a big forehand winner.

The top seed's struggles continued into the second set as Fritz, moving well and dictating proceedings from the baseline, claimed the match's first break four games in before going 5-1 up by repeating the trick in a back-and-forth sixth game.

Fritz then wrapped up the win with another dominant display of serving, clinching his second victory over Nadal and denting the Spaniard's bid to win a title that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career.

Having been beaten by Tommy Paul at the Paris Masters and Frances Tiafoe at the US Open, Nadal has now suffered three consecutive defeats, and he must bounce back when he faces Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal – 7/4
Fritz – 8/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal – 18/4
Fritz – 23/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal – 0/0
Fritz – 2/9

Casper Ruud opened his ATP Finals campaign with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 triumph over Felix Auger-Aliassime in Turin.

The victory put Ruud top of the Green Group, with the pool's two other players, Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz, set to face off later on Sunday.

A tight first set saw each game go to serve as it went all the way to a tie-break, with Ruud – this year's beaten US Open finalist – finding a crucial break at 3-2 up, giving him the momentum to nose ahead.

They continued to be closely matched in the second set too, though Ruud again managed to break Auger-Aliassime at a critical juncture in the match.

With the set tied at three apiece, ATP Finals debutant Auger-Aliassime double-faulted at 40-15 down on his own serve to put Ruud within two games of victory.

The world number four took full advantage, who is making his second appearance in the season-ending tournament, kicking on to secure a straight-sets success without offering a single break point to begin his tournament in impressive fashion.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Ruud - 5/1

Auger-Aliassime - 14/3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Ruud - 19/5

Auger-Aliassime - 30/9

BREAK POINTS WON

Ruud - 1/1

Auger-Aliassime - 0/0

Rafael Nadal does not need extra motivation to win the ATP Finals for the first time in his legendary career, while Novak Djokovic is looking for a "perfect ending" to 2022 in Turin.

Spanish great Nadal has won 22 singles grand slam titles, a record in the men's game, but has surprisingly never been crowned champion at the season-ending event.

Nadal made a personal-best start to 2022, winning 20 straight matches and lifting the Australian Open title.

However, he has only played once since the US Open due to becoming a father for the first time and recuperating from injuries.

Still, at the age of 36, Nadal is grateful to still be getting a crack at finally ticking off the ATP Finals on his impressive list of accomplishments.

"I try my best in every single event. That's true. Doesn't matter if I won it [in the past] or not," Nadal, a two-time runner-up, said at an ATP media day prior to the tournament in Turin.

"When I enter a tennis tournament, I want to win and I'm going to try my best to achieve that goal. Here I was not able to make it, I was not good enough to make it in the past.

"So I just accept that and I'm happy to give myself another chance at the age of 36 — something, for me, that was difficult to imagine years ago.

"Of course it's going to be a challenge, but I hope I will be ready to give myself a chance. That's what I am looking for, just practising as good as possible with the right attitude and just trying to be ready for the action that's going to start on Sunday."

Djokovic's season has been a complicated one. Absent from the Australian and US Opens due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19, the Serbian great did triumph at Wimbledon, but there were no ranking points on offer at SW19.

He has slipped to eighth in the rankings as a result but does have four titles to his name in 2022 and Djokovic is eyeing a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title and first since 2015.

"It would be a perfect ending," Djokovic said." The cherry on the cake, for sure, but it's a long way. It's a long week.

"You've got to play the best players in the world. You have to play more or less everyone in this tournament at least once, so I look forward to it.

"I've had experience in this tournament, in this format, many times and hopefully that can serve me in a good way."

In recent years, the notable absentee at the ATP Finals has been Roger Federer, with his last appearance in the tournament coming in 2019.

The lack of Federer at the showpiece event will be felt even more apparent this year after the Swiss maestro retired from tennis in September, though it is the absence of a player at the other end of his career that is more relevant in Turin.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz had to withdraw from the tournament after suffering an abdominal tear, which means his status at the top of the men's game is in jeopardy.

Rafael Nadal has spoken well of his 19-year-old compatriot in the past, but is not ready to pass the torch just yet, and could even topple Alcaraz from his number one spot.

The 22-time grand slam champion has finished as year-end number one five times previously, most recently in 2019. Should he accomplish the feat again this year it would put him in joint-second for most year-end finishes at the top of the ATP Rankings (since 1973) along with Pete Sampras (six).

In order to do so, Nadal will need to win the tournament, something he has never done before.

However, he comes into his 11th appearance in good form, and has won 32 per cent of his return games in 2022, the highest percentage by any player this year, and has converted 43.8 per cent of his break points in 2022, the third best amongst all players.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, meanwhile, is the other competitor who can knock Alcaraz off top spot, though his task to do so is a little more complicated as he needs to win every match on the way to the title in Turin. 

No player has played more matches in 2022 than Tsitsipas (80), 21 on clay, 11 on grass and 48 on hard courts; he has won 59 of them and lost 21.

Should neither man win at the Pala Alpitour, Alcaraz will breathe a sigh of relief and earn his first year-end number one finish, having taken his place after winning the US Open in September.

Nadal has been drawn into the Green Group with Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz, while Tsitsipas will be in the Red Group alongside Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic can equal Federer record

One man surprisingly unable to end the year as number one is Djokovic, despite having done so on more occasions than anyone else in history (seven).

However, the 21-time grand slam champion can still make his mark in Italy.

Djokovic has had an up-and-down year, only playing in two of the four grand slams due to his vaccination status, though he was able to win Wimbledon for the seventh time, beating Nick Kyrgios in the final.

Should the Serbian go all the way and lift what would be his sixth ATP Finals title, he will go level with Federer for most victories since the tournament began in 1970.

Among the eight participating players in this year's tournament, Djokovic has won 87 per cent of his service games in 2022, the best percentage among these players and the sixth overall.

It would be quite the ending to the year for Djokovic, who finds himself in the unusual position of sitting eighth in the world rankings, and at the age of 35, who knows how many more appearances he will make at the event?

Strong field promises fireworks

As is the intent of the format, the ATP Finals should be a tightly-contested few days as the best men's players in the world come together.

Ruud will be looking to add to an already impressive season, having reached two grand slam finals and winning three tour-level titles, while Fritz is aiming to carry on the fine lineage of American players to have won the tournament.

Players from the United States have won the ATP finals 16 times, with Sampras and Ivan Lendl winning five of them each. It is the most by any country and 10 more than next best Switzerland (six, all Federer) and Germany (also six, three wins for Boris Becker, one for Michael Stich and two for last year's champion, Alexander Zverev).

Auger-Aliassime has had a strong end to the year, beating Djokovic at the Laver Cup before winning three titles in as many weeks in Florence, Antwerp and Basel.

Only John Isner (895) has recorded more aces in 2022 than Auger-Aliassime, who has registered 852 in total, averaging 10.9 per match.

"All the players who participate [at the ATP Finals], I have already faced them, I have beaten them," the Canadian recently said. "So for me, there's no reason why I can't show up to this tournament with the aim of winning it."

Medvedev was world number one as recently as September but enters this tournament in fifth, though he did win the Vienna ATP 500 event last month, while his first opponent in Turin, Rublev, enters with a 2022 record of 49-18, looking for his second straight 50-win season.

Whoever comes out on top at this year's ATP Finals, the race for supremacy in 2023 promises to be as delightfully chaotic.

Carlos Alcaraz will miss the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals after his season was cut short by an abdominal injury.

The world number one suffered an internal oblique muscle tear during a Paris Masters quarter-final against Holger Rune on Friday.

Alcaraz retired early in a second-set tie-break after losing the opening set 6-3 in the French capital.

The US Open champion on Saturday revealed it will take him six weeks to recover from the injury, so Taylor Fritz will take his place in the ATP Finals in Turin next week.

Teenager Alcaraz will also be unavailable for Spain's bid to win the Davis Cup on home soil, with the prestigious event getting under way on November 22 in Malaga.

He posted on Instagram: "After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, Dr Juanjo Lopez and Juanjo Moreno, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks.

"Unfortunately I won't make the ATP Finals or the Davis Cup Finals. It is tough and painful for me to miss these two events, which are so important to me, but all I can do is be positive and focus on my recovery. Thank you for the support!"

The 19-year-old became the youngest player to top the ATP rankings after winning his maiden major title at Flushing Meadows in September and ends a magnificent season with a record of 57 wins and 13 defeats.

He has won five ATP Tour titles in 2022, with Masters 1000 triumphs in Miami and Madrid along with his finest hour in New York.

Carlos Alcaraz is unsure if he will be fit for the ATP Finals after the world number one retired from the Paris Masters due to an abdominal injury.

The world number one cut short his quarter-final against Holger Rune in the French capital during a second-set tie-break after he lost the opener 6-3 on Friday.

Alcaraz stated after his retirement that it is too early to say whether he will be able to play in the prestigious season-ending tournament in Turin which starts on November 13.

The US Open champion said: "I don't know if I'll make it to the Masters Cup [ATP Finals]. Right now I have to do some tests to see how I am before going to Turin.

"I am focused on trying to improve my abdomen and trying to be 100 per cent in Turin."

The Spaniard felt there was no point in taking any chances.

He added: "At the end of the set, I felt bad. My abdomen was getting bad and I preferred to retire to see it and take care of it.

"I can't stretch. I couldn't serve well, I couldn't hit my forehand and when I turned the body I feel pain, I feel the abdomen in all the movements.

"I was playing thinking about it and feeling the pain, so it was better to withdraw."

Rune will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, with both players finishing the season strongly.

Auger-Aliassime beat Frances Tiafoe 6-1 6-4 for his 16th consecutive win to set up a repeat of a final in Basel that the Canadian won last weekend.

Rafael Nadal has turned his focus to the ATP Finals after his shock exit from the Paris Masters, though found it hard to visualise success in Turin.

World number two Nadal crashed out in the second round of the ATP 1000 event on Wednesday, going down 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to Tommy Paul.

Nadal, who was contesting his first match since his Laver Cup doubles exhibition with the now-retired Roger Federer, took the opening set and appeared on his way to a comfortable victory when he went up a break in the second.

But Paul broke straight back, going on to win the tie-break before storming home in the decider as Nadal seemed to struggle physically the longer the match dragged on.

Speaking to the media after the loss, Nadal gave credit to his opponent and said he did not deserve to win after blowing his chance.

"It's okay – all the credit to Tommy," he said. "Things happen sometimes.

"I think he played aggressively, a lot of great shots. I had my match in that second set, with a set and break [lead]. 

"I played a terrible game there. I didn't deserve the victory playing that bad in that key moment, no.

"Until that moment, it was okay, a good match for me. Knowing that this is my first match in a while – and this surface especially, you cannot make mistakes with your serve.

"We are always ready to find excuses, but in the end, it's always the same. You play well, you win; you don't, you lose. 

"For moments, putting everything in a pack, I was playing quite well. Then at the right moment, I didn't make the right things. So that's it – he played well, he's having a great year."

Turning his attention to the season finale in Italy, Nadal said he will be there if everything goes to plan.

"Yes, I hope, if nothing happens, I hope to be there," he said. "I'm excited about playing, even if it hasn't been the perfect couple of months for me, of course. 

"But yeah, nothing to lose. After a good year, going there, just trying my best. It's true that for the last five months I didn't spend enough days on the Tour.

"I don't even say competing on a tennis court – I say on the Tour. Practicing with the guys, that's what I need."

His lack of a strong build-up to the tournament has 22-time grand slam champion Nadal admittedly not liking his chances, saying it would be "difficult to imagine" this being the year he is able to win his first ATP Finals title.

"I mean, for me it's difficult to imagine now arriving in good enough shape to win a tournament like this one that I didn't win during my whole tennis career," he said.

"To play against the best players of the world, from the first day you need to be there and the rhythm, conditions, that will not happen. 

"So the only thing I can do is try to be there earlier, have some good practice with the guys and then give my best on the court – and hopefully the level of tennis will be there, and the body too.

"I can't predict much, and I honestly don't think much about what I have to do or what I don't have to do to be really there. 

"I just think about 'be better' – I need to improve a couple of things, and then I need to play sets against the best players, to feel myself again, competitive against everyone.

"That's it – I'm gonna try to make that happen – and if not, you know what, there's going to be next year, and I'm going to try to have the best season possible to start strong."

Alexander Zverev is targeting an elusive grand slam title after the Olympic Games gold medallist capped a fine year with ATP Finals glory.

Zverev outmatched defending champion and second seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-4 to claim his second ATP Finals crown in Turin on Sunday.

Champion at the Tokyo Games, Zverev became the first player to beat the world number one and two in the semis and final since Andre Agassi in 1990, having upstaged Novak Djokovic in the final four.

After celebrating his 59 tour-level victories – the best on tour – Zverev turned his attention to grand slams.

Despite his success at the Olympics and Masters 1000 level, Zverev is yet to break through at slams having lost last year's US Open final, while reaching three semi-finals previously.

Asked if he was closer than ever to winning a slam, Zverev replied: "I think so, yeah. I mean, why not, right?

"I've kind of succeeded at every single level. There's one thing missing. I hope I can do that next year."

Zverev, who claimed a tour-leading sixth title this season, added: "They [things] couldn't be much better, to be honest.

"I'm obviously happy with how the season went, I'm happy with the finish of the season because obviously it was a great year.

"To capture the title here has been incredible."

US Open winner Medvedev also backed Zverev to conquer a grand slam tournament, saying: "Sascha is a great player who is capable of beating anybody, so he definitely can win a Grand Slam, because It’s just obvious.

"But he's not the only one and that's where it gets tough. He was in the semi-finals of the US Open and lost in five sets [to Djokovic]. Who knows maybe if he was in the final he might have beaten me.

"It's just a matter of every tournament is a different scenario and surface, you have to win seven matches to be a grand slam champion. Is he capable? Yes. Is he going to do it? We never know."

Alexander Zverev outmatched defending champion Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to claim his second ATP Finals title on Sunday.

World number three Zverev was defeated by Medvedev in the group stage, but the German prevailed 6-4 6-4 in the final for his tour-best sixth trophy of the year.

The 24-year-old fired eight aces on his way to a deserved win over Medvedev, secured in just an hour and 15 minutes.

"It was great," Zverev said in his on-court interview. "I won the Finals, with a win in the final against someone I had lost [against] five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. 

"I am happy about that and happy to go on holiday with this win."

Building on his semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic, Zverev made a strong start in Turin and broke his opponent in the third game.

Medvedev was unable to hit back as Zverev dominated behind his first serve to see out the first set.

The Russian's hopes of becoming the first repeat champion since Djokovic's four in a row between 2012 and 2015 were further dented when losing serve in the opening game of the second set.

Putting his powerful game to good use, Zverev only improved as the contest went on at the Pala Alpitour venue as he saw the job through with his first match point to cap the year in style.

Your moment, @AlexZverev#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/HOSxnFdSfh

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 21, 2021 Data Slam: Alexander the great?

Zverev had lost his previous five meetings with Medvedev, as he pointed out, but he bettered his opponent in every department on his way to becoming just the fourth player in ATP Finals history to earn semi-final and final wins over the world's top-two players.

His 59 tour-level wins in 2021 is the most of any player, fittingly overtaking Medvedev on that list with this statement victory.

TOTAL POINTS WON

Zverev – 61
Medvedev – 51

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Zverev – 8/1
Medvedev – 3/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Zverev – 2/4
Medvedev – 0/0

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic does not know if he will defend his crown due to the COVID-19 mandate in Victoria.

It remains to be seen whether world number one Djokovic will fly to Melbourne in January amid vaccination requirements.

The state of Victoria, where the year's opening grand slam takes place at Melbourne Park, has introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes and across most industries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As doubts over Djokovic's participation linger, the 34-year-old superstar was asked about his Australian Open plans after losing to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals on Saturday.

"I haven't been talking to [Tennis Australia], to be honest," nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic told reporters after his 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3 defeat in Turin.

"I was just waiting to hear what the news was going to be. Now that I know, we'll just have to wait and see."

The 2021 Australian Open went ahead, albeit in February instead of January, and without fans for most of the tournament following a snap lockdown of Melbourne due to COVID-19.

Djokovic – winner of a joint-record 20 grand slam titles – was among the players critical of the conditions athletes endured prior to this year's Australian Open, with strict quarantine measures introduced.

World number one Novak Djokovic revelled in his "phenomenal" year, despite his ATP Finals exit to Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic's season came to an end on Saturday, the 20-time grand slam champion beaten 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3 by Zverev in the Turin semi-finals.

A five-time winner of the season-ending tournament, Djokovic missed out on the chance to claim a record-tying sixth Finals title after falling to Olympic Games gold medallist Zverev.

While his year did not end the way he wanted, Djokovic reflected on another successful campaign, which saw the 34-year-old equal the record for most major trophies thanks to wins at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

Djokovic also missed out on becoming just the third man to complete the Grand Slam – a feat last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969 – after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.

"It was a great season, no doubt. I did not play many tournaments, but still managed to end the year at number one for the seventh time, broke records for the year-end number one, historic number one, won three out of [the] four Slams," said Djokovic, who surpassed Pete Sampras for most year-ending number ones.

"The year was phenomenal. Maybe could have done better in some other ATP events. But all in all really good ending of the season as well with a title in Paris and semi-finals here."

On the match against Zverev, Djokovic said: "Of course we want to win against each other, but there is that respect and appreciation for each other that is more important than winning or losing.

"That's something that I always had with Sascha. I really appreciate that. I wish him all the best. He's a great guy, fantastic tennis player, I'm sure soon to be a Grand Slam champion."

It will be the first Finals decider without a player aged over 25 since 2005, when David Nalbandian beat Roger Federer.

Zverev – the third seed – is bidding to become the first player to beat the world number one and two in the semis and final since Andre Agassi in 1990.

Russian number two Medvedev stands in his way and Zverev added: "Every time we play it takes hours. I have not spent more time on court with anybody other than him [Djokovic] this year.

"I am happy with the win and happy to be in the final here and to give myself the best chance for tomorrow [Sunday]."