By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, November 5, 2018
Novak Djokovic, who clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fifth time headlines the Guga Kuerten Group for the ATP Finals in London.
Photo credit: Laver Cup Facebook
Sharing the court with rival Novak Djokovic in Laver Cup doubles provided Roger Federer an opportunity to "see into our minds a bit more."
The iconic champions can envision squaring off again in the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
More: Nadal Withdraws From ATP Finals, Needs Ankle Surgery
The draw for the season-ending event was conducted live on BBC One today with Boris Becker, Djokovic's former coach, presiding.
A couple of days after Djokovic out-dueled Federer in a classic Rolex Paris Masters semifinal, the pair headline respective groups for London.
The Nitto ATP Finals are set for November 11-18th at the O2 Arena.
Group Guga Kuerten
[1] Novak Djokovic
[3] Alexander Zverev
[5] Marin Cilic
[8] John Isner
Group Lleyton Hewitt
[2] Roger Federer
[4] Kevin Anderson
[6] Dominic Thiem
[7] Kei Nishikori
Despite seeing his 22-match winning streak snapped by a red-hot Karen Khachanov in yesterday's gripping Paris Masters final, Djokovic emerged as a major winner before striking a shot in his London return.
Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from London seals Djokovic's fifth stint as year-end world No. 1 and makes the 31-year-old Serbian the oldest year-end No. 1 in ATP history, breaking Nadal's record set last year.
On the surface, Djokovic's quest for a sixth year-end title starts with a tougher round-robin group than Federer.
The top seed has beaten Cilic in 16 of 18 career meetings, including rallying for a three-set win in the Paris quarterfinals on Friday, though Cilic saved championship point edging Djokovic in the Queen's Club final in June. Djokovic has split two meetings with Zverev and has won eight of 10 encounters with Isner, who gained entry by Nadal's departure from the field.
"I'm satisfied of course and I'm going to be No. 1," Djokovic said after falling in the Paris final. "And what more can I ask for? I mean, I won 20-plus matches in a row and had a most amazing last five months of the year.
"So I'm getting into season finale with a lot of confidence and feeling good about my game."
Six-time year-end champion Federer is feeling confident about his game as well.
Fresh off capturing his 99th career title in his hometown tournament in Basel, Federer did not drop serve bowing to Djokovic in an epic.
The 2017 London semifinalist has beaten Nishikori in seven of nine meetings, including a in Saturday's Paris semifinals. Federer has won four of five encounters with Anders though the lanky South African toppled the 20-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon. Thiem has won two of three meetings vs. the 37-year-old Swiss.
London shapes up as a coronation lap for Djokovic, though Federer is hoping for another shot at his rival at the O2 Arena.
"Novak is obviously on a roll. You can feel it," Federer said in Paris. "He protects his serve very well. I think I did the same as well. And at the end it came down to a few things here and there.
"But overall, you know, I'm happy with my game. It's better than last week in Basel. There I won the tournament and here I played in the semis and it needed somebody of Novak's caliber to beat me. So that's all right. And I'm looking forward to a rest now and a good preparation for London."