Nadal and Djokovic open to Tour Finals change

Originally published on: 05/11/13 00:00

Nadal is playing in his sixth end-of-season showdown but is yet to win the title, which has been staged indoors every year since Shanghai in 2005. This is the fifth year London’s O2 Arena hosts the event.

The Spaniard has won four of 10 titles on the hard surface this season but is far more adept to clay, which is more forgiving on his troublesome knees. Having only reached the final once in this tournament (2010), the Spaniard would like to see it changed.

“We could change every year to play it on the surfaces we qualify for the finals,” said the world No.1. “That means, for example, a good clay-court player would have the chance to play on his best surface.

“I have never been a fantastic player on the indoor surface,” he added. “For me it is more fair to have it outdoors on different surfaces.”

There are two major stumbling blocks to a change, however. The first is London’s right to stage on the tournament, which runs to 2015 and might even extend beyond that date, and the fact the event takes place in November, making it difficult to stage outside in Europe and North America.

But, for two-time winner Novak Djokovic, who faces Roger Federer at the O2 in his opening round robin match, the solution is to rotate venues around the world every three years.

“You can popularise the sport in places where tennis is not as popular,” Djokovic said. “We should look into allowing other cities in the world to compete for this tournament.”

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