TennisBalls • Ricks Picks • Djokovic, Federer Joined By Thiem And Berrettini In “Group B” @ Nitto ATP Finals In London

By Ricky Dimon

Group A at the Nitto ATP Finals may be the more interesting of the two given that just about anything could happen between Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev. That, however, does not mean it’s the toughest. No, that distinction belongs to Group B. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are the main reasons, but don’t overlook the fact that Dominic Thiem has won 15 hard-court matches since the U.S. Open. London debutant and U.S. Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini rounds out the field.

Djokovic and Federer are the obvious favorites to reach the semifinals out of this round-robin quartet, so it would be up to Thiem or Berrettini to throw a wrench into the equation. Thiem has never qualified for the semis in three previous trips to London.

Let’s crunch the Group B numbers prior to Sunday’s start inside the O2 Arena.

2019 statistics:

Novak Djokovic
Record: 53-9
Record since the U.S. Open: 12-1
Titles: 5 (2 slams, 2 Masters)

Roger Federer
Record: 51-8
Record since the U.S. Open: 8-1
Titles: 4 (1 Masters)

Dominic Thiem
Record: 46-17
Record since the U.S. Open: 15-4
Titles: 5 (1 Masters)

Matteo Berrettini

Record: 42-21
Record since the U.S. Open: 8-5
Titles: 2

Lifetime records against group opponents:

Novak Djokovic
vs. Roger Federer: 26-22
vs. Dominic Thiem: 6-3
vs. Matteo Berrettini: 0-0
Combined: 32-25

Roger Federer
vs. Novak Djokovic: 22-26
vs. Dominic Thiem: 2-4
vs. Matteo Berrettini: 1-0
Combined: 25-30

Dominic Thiem
vs. Novak Djokovic: 3-6
vs. Roger Federer: 4-2
vs. Matteo Berrettini: 2-1
Combined: 9-9

Matteo Berrettini
vs. Novak Djokovic: 0-0
vs. Roger Federer: 0-1
vs. Dominic Thiem: 1-2
Combined: 1-3

Lifetime records at the year-end championship:

Novak Djokovic: 36-12 (5 titles)
Roger Federer: 57-16 (6 titles)
Dominic Thiem: 3-6
Matteo Berrettini: 0-0

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.