TENNIS: RAFAEL NADAL yesterday made a subdued farewell to the ATP World Tour Finals when he was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by Novak Djokovic, the winner of this tournament in Shanghai last year.

The Spaniard, who needed treatment on his back during the second set, failed to win a single set in his three round-robin matches and will now hope to be fit for next week’s Davis Cup final in Barcelona when Spain, looking to win the trophy for a third time in the last 10 years, take on the Czech Republic.

“It would have been disappointing if I had arrived in London thinking I had a big chance, but I never felt that way,” Nadal said. “I tried my best, but I am playing the best players in the world and it wasn’t enough on this surface. But the confidence will come back when I have trained and practised enough. The big motivation now is to finish the year by winning the Davis Cup.”

Djokovic opened the door to a place in today’s semi-finals, and the possibility of replacing Nadal as the world number two if he were to retain his title.

It is close to two years since the 22-year-old Serb won his only grand slam title in Australia, but there have been signs since the US Open, where he was beaten in the semi-finals by Roger Federer, that Djokovic has begun to rediscover the form that convinced many he was a future number one. Before arriving in London he won back-to-back indoor titles, in Basle, beating Federer on his home patch in the final, and at the Paris Masters.

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, who reached the last four by defeating Federer on Thursday night, thereby depriving Andy Murray of a place in the semi-finals, could replace the Scot as the world number four if he wins.

Murray, who briefly rose to number two in the summer, has been in the top four for more than a year. He does not plan to play any ranking tournaments before the Australian Open.

Guardian Service