4 burning questions ahead of the ATP Finals 2018

The 2018 ATP season has seen it all. Some heartwrenching upsets and injuries to few of the most popular players. A great come back into form for one elite player at the middle of the year, the dip in form for another. A lot of firsts happened during this season as well, with maiden ATP titles for obscure Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili and the in-vogue Kyle Edmund.

Two marathon matches happened on the trot too, with the same man - Kevin Anderson, winning the 5th set in 20 games or more at the Wimbledon quarterfinals and semis. Such an extraordinary occurrence prompted the All England Club to introduce 5th set tiebreakers at 12-12 from next year.

The final tournament of the year begins in a couple of days time at the O2 Arena in London. Today we are going to look at some of the burning questions ahead of the year ending Nitto ATP Finals 2018.

Will Djokovic's form get affected after Khachanov loss?

Rolex Paris Masters - Day Seven

Novak Djokovic staged one of the best comebacks during a calendar year in tennis this season. He lost some of the quality in his game because of an injury and was seeded outside the top the 10 in Wimbledon, but he won the tournament. He has been in imperious form since.

The Serb has won 4 out of his last 6 ATP tournament appearances, including the US Open where he beat 3rd-seeded del Potro. His last title was the Shanghai Masters, one of his most favourite tournaments. He defeated three in-form players in his last three matches of the event to lift his 4th title in the Chinese city. But, in the Paris Masters which finished 5 days ago, an unseeded player overpowered the latest No.1 in the final. Karen Khachanov beat Djokovic in straight sets to lift his first Masters trophy.

Novak Djokovic is not one to let his previous defeats affect him, but it's something to watch out for in Tuesday's midnight match.

Will the shoulder niggle from Paris hinder Zverev's serve?

Rolex Paris Masters - Day Three

Alexander Zverev has had a relatively poor 5 months on the tour. He has won a title in this period at Washington but has suffered a slew of upsets. The German first lost against the rising star, Borna Coric in the Halle Open in the run-up to Wimbledon. During the Grand Slam, he was beaten by Ernests Gulbis in 5 sets after winning in similar margins a match before. Following the Washington Open, he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas in Canada.

Zverev also lost to Robin Haase and fellow German Kohlschreiber in the Cincinnati Masters and US Open respectively. Recently he lost to qualifier Copil in the Swiss Indoors tournament. In the Paris Masters quarterfinals, he was seen holding his right shoulder and wincing in pain every time he served or hit an overhead.

Alexander Zverev did end up playing the match out before losing, but the niggle might affect his gameplay on Monday as he faces the powerful Marin Cilic.

Can Nishikori and Isner utilize their stroke of luck?

2017 French Open - Day Five

Until mid-October, both Kei Nishikori and John Isner couldn't have imagined qualifying for the ATP Tour Finals. But with del Potro and Rafael Nadal pulling out of the tournament, they were presented an opportunity. Every round-robin win guarantees 200 important points and will help to trim the distance between them and the top players of the pack. The gap between Nishikori and Isner is very slim as well.

The No.9 ranked Japanese leads the American by just 235 points. The Japan No. 1 has to contend with a great of the game and a player in great form, in Roger Federer and Kevin Anderson respectively. Dominic Thiem is no mug with the racquet either.

The American No. 1 who plays in a different group, has the World No. 1 to counter against. Alexander Zverev too, if fit, is a tough proposition and so is Marin Cilic.

For both Isner and Nishikori, It's everything to play for.

Will Federer win ATP Title No. 100?

ATP Swiss Indoor Basel - Day Seven

The 2018 edition might be the last for Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals. The 37 year-old, after winning 2 titles at the start of this year and one after the clay season, suffered a mini-drought that lasted till the Basel Open last month. He won the Stuttgart Open in mid-June but endured upsets in both Halle and Wimbledon. He lost to Borna Coric in the Halle Open final and to Kevin Anderson in a marathon Wimbledon quarterfinal.

The horror run didn't end there for the Swiss Maestro as he was upset in the US Open too, this time against John Millman in 4 sets. He had a better showing at Shanghai, reaching the semifinal after 3 testing matches, but lost to Coric again. At home in Basel though, things changed for Federer as he breezed to his 99th title. He had an epic 3-set semifinal at Paris too, against Novak Djokovic. He wasn't even broken once in the match but ended up losing it 6-7, 7-5, 6-7.

It wasn't Federer's day, but not every match will pan out that way. With a probable semifinal or final against the same opponent at the Tour Finals looming, he might fancy his chances.