19-time Grand Slam singles champion Roger Federer joins Rafael Nadal as the second man to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the 15th time in his career. The former world number one booked his place at the Final Showdown in London which runs from November 12th-19th after he clinched a record breaking eighth Wimbledon singles title on Sunday. The 35-year-old defeated 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the final, who was contesting his second Grand Slam final. Federer won the title at SW19 without dropping a single set.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion is currently the most successful player in 2017. He has clinched five titles which include two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Federer completed the Sunshine Double by winning in Indian Wells and Miami. The former world number one also won a record-breaking ninth title in Halle, before Wimbledon.
"I look forward to returning to London in November. I was sad not to be able to compete last year as I love playing there and had not missed the event since 2002."
The six-time winner made a record 14th consecutive appearances at the year-end Championships from 2002-15. The prestigious event has 1,500 points on offer for the winner. Federer has a 52-12 win-loss record at the event as he won titles in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and his last success coming in 2011. The 35-year-old reached the final on four more occasions, losing to David Nalbandian in 2005 and to 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Federer is a serious contender to end the year as the world number one as the reigning world number one Andy Murray has a colossal 5460 points to defend and Novak Djokovic has 3740 points to defend. Nadal will be Federer's main rival for the number one ranking as the Spaniard has just 370 points to defend.
Nadal and Federer are far ahead in the Emirates ATP Race to London. The 15-time Grand Slam champion has 7095 points whilst Federer has 6545 points. Djokovic and Murray are seventh and eighth in the race respectively. It remains to be seen if Djokovic and Murray who dominated the 2016 season will compete for the rest of the year as they are nursing nagging elbow and hips injuries respectively.