ATP Finals: Alexander Zverev pleads for London – or an NBA hall

Two editions of the ATP Finals will definitely be available in London. What will happen afterwards will be the subject of disagreement among the players.

By Jens Huiber from London

Just follow Novak Djokovic. This seems to be a recipe for success these days, not only in sports. So anyone leaving the Jubilee Line at Greenwich North station will be greeted by posters from the world’s first-ranked supplier. Even the escalator is decorated with an arrangement by Dojokovic and René Lacoste. Doubts as to whether the visitors here are in the right place do not arise anyway: The exit gates of the subway undoubtedly point to the men’s final tournament of the season.

The question is, how much longer? Novak Djokovic himself had suggested that the ATP finals should go on tour again, as nice as it is in London. According to the contract, there will certainly still be two issues in the O2 Arena; negotiations about what will happen after the Masters 2020 are already in full swing behind the scenes.

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The crowds in London are still very enthusiastic – even though there were a few vacancies at the top of the list for Djokovic’s match against John Isner on Monday evening. On the other hand, the mood was not really right until now, the matches in the singles were too clear – even though the fans were served some tiebreaks.

Alexander Zverev sees things a little differently than industry leader Djokovic. The O2 Arena is the best possible venue, the German announced in his press conference after the opening victory against Marin Cilic. Although the hall in Paris-Bercy is great, it would never stand up to comparison with the one in London. In any case, Zverev would not know of any comparable venue in Europe.

Well, a hall in the USA, that would be something different, added Zverev. The United Center in Chicago, where the Laver Cup was held in mid-September, would also weaken the German number one.

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In general, however, the question arises as to whether a change of continents is in the interests of the players. And in the interests of the environment. Kevin Anderson, for example, had stressed before the start of the finals that the ATP wanted to pay more attention to ecological footprints in the future. If, after the Paris-Bercy tournament, the 24-man squad plus two or three replacements plus accompanying personnel were to take a transatlantic flight, the efforts to make the game more environmentally friendly would be somewhat absurd.

John Isner, on the other hand, has given it less thought this year. The US American returned home to London last Thursday after his defeat against Karen Khachanov in Bercy. The effort paid off for Isner: wife and child travelled back to Europe with the debutant.