Roger Federer pulls out of Paris Masters to all but gift Rafael Nadal year-end No 1 ranking
Spaniard needs just one victory in France to ensure he will end 2017 on top as Swiss opts to rest after winning Basel
A hoped-for fight to the finish for the year-end number one ranking at next month’s ATP World Tour Finals in London is likely to be a coronation for Rafael Nadal, who is virtually guaranteed ending 2017 top of the pile.
Roger Federer’s eighth Swiss Indoors title on Sunday reduced the points gap on the Spaniard to 1,460 points, but his subsequent withdrawal from this week’s Paris Masters means Nadal is poised to finish top for the fourth time in his career.
With 1,500 points available in London for winning the title, having won all three round-robin matches, the 31-year-old Nadal needs to win just one round in Paris to put himself out of reach of the 19-times grand slam champion.
It is a far cry from last year when the year-end ranking was decided in the last match of the season at London’s O2 Arena when Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic to seal it.
“My body is asking for a break,” 36-year-old Federer, who beat Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in Basel to claim his 95th career title, said of his decision to give up the chase of Nadal.