Novak Djokovic says he is ready for the “big task” of trying to win the ATP Tour Finals in London and claim the year-end world number one spot for a record-equalling sixth time.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion sealed his fifth Paris Masters title on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov. 
Djokovic would also be sure of the year-end top ranking should he win the tournament. 
“There’s always a chance that I win all my matches in London, that I play well. I have done it in the past, and I like playing there,” said the 32-year-old, who has won five ATP Finals titles.
“But it’s (an) extremely difficult task considering who my opponents are going to be.
“You’re playing (a) top-10 player every single match. So that’s a big task on my end that I have to focus on.
“And as a consequence, of course, if I manage to get the year-end number one, that would be fantastic.”
Djokovic is bidding to equal Pete Sampras’ record of finishing six years as the world’s best player, while Nadal is looking to achieve the feat for the fifth time.
“It is a motivation and a goal every day,” said Djokovic. “It is a goal that I have as a professional tennis player to win as many Grand Slams as possible and also to be number one worldwide for as long as possible.”
The 33-year-old Nadal could have ended the race for top spot by winning the Paris title, but he withdrew before his semi-final against Shapovalov with an abdominal muscle strain.
 
Djokovic not slowing down
Djokovic has enjoyed yet another fantastic season, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon among his five titles.
That looked a long way off when his comeback from a long-standing elbow injury suffered a setback last year with a shock French Open quarter-final defeat by Italian Marco Cecchinato.
But he has since added four major titles, having also claimed the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open crowns.
Djokovic — who is closing in on Nadal, who has 19, and Federer, with 20, on the all-time list of Grand Slam titles — says he is hoping to play on for as many years as possible.
“I would like to play tennis for a long time. I don’t know how long that is going to be, but I wish to really play pretty long.
“So hopefully you’ll be seeing me around for many more years.”
Djokovic’s victory on Sunday delivered his 34th Masters title and his 77th on the ATP Tour in total.
Nadal confirms
World number one Rafael Nadal, recovering from injury, confirmed yesterday he will compete at the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London from November 10-17.
“Yesterday I had an MRI in Majorca and despite a slight strain to the left abdominal muscle I will go to London,” tweeted Nadal, forced out of last week’s Paris Masters by the same injury.
“Thursday or Friday I will start hitting services. The idea is to play the ATP Finals. Thanks for your support.”
Nadal took over as world number one this week from Novak Djokovic who went on to win the Paris Masters.
The eight top-ranked players in the world gather in London for the ATP Tour Finals where Nadal’s world number one ranking will be under threat from Djokovic.
If Nadal fails to win even one round robin match, Djokovic could be crowned world number one simply by reaching the final after two group-stage wins.


Djokovic faces 
Federer 
Swiss great Roger Federer has been drawn against Novak Djokovic in the group stage for the ATP Finals in London from Sunday while top seed Rafael Nadal meets Daniil Medvedev in a rematch from the US Open.
Federer, seeded third, takes on long-time Serbian rival Djokovic in the Bjorn Borg group which also contains Dominic Thiem of Austria and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, the lowest ranked of the eight players competing. Nadal faces Medvedev again having defeated the Russian in a thrilling five-set final to win the year’s last grand slam in New York. Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Germany’s Alexander Zverev complete the Andre Agassi group. 
After the round robin group stage, the winner of each group plays the runner-up of the other in November 16 semi-finals with the decider a day later.