5 players with the most ATP World Tour Finals titles
The 2018 edition of the Nitto ATP Finals is all set to take place next week at the O2 Arena in London. The ATP Finals is the most prominent tennis tournament in terms of prize money and viewership after the 4 Grand Slams.
The first edition of the tournament took place in 1970 when it was known as 'The Masters Grand Prix' and was organized by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). No ranking points were awarded until 1990 when the organizing and scheduling rights to Men's tour events were bagged by the ATP.
The tournament consists of 8 players divided into 2 groups who play in a round-robin format before the knockout rounds. The top 7 ranked players automatically qualify. It is to be noted that the 8th ranked player is not guaranteed a slot in the draw.
If a player ranked between 9 and 20, after the completion of the last ATP tournament prior to the ATP Finals, has won a Grand Slam in the same year, then he automatically qualifies for the tournament superseding the 8th ranked player. The champion of the 2018 edition will walk away with a cool $2,712,000 in prize money and 1500 ranking points.
We take a look at 5 players who have won the most ATP Finals trophies:
#5 Ilie Nastase
Romanian Ilie Nastase was the first player to be ranked Number 1 when the ATP rankings were announced for the first time in 1973. An accomplished player in both Singles and Doubles, Nastase was a prominent player in the 1970s and was the first player from Romania to win a Grand Slam and rise to the top of the ATP rankings.
He was the first player to win the French Open without dropping a set. With over a 100 titles in Singles and Doubles combined, Nastase was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.
Nastase won the season-ending ATP title 4 times in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975.