Nadal desperate to prove himself

Bids to win the ATP Finals for the first time in his career

Candid: Rafael Nadal attributed fatigue and a preference for other surfaces for his failure to shine indoors.

Rafael Nadal says he is determined to improve his poor record on indoor courts as he bids to win the ATP Finals, starting on Sunday, for the first time in his illustrious career.

Just one of the Spaniard’s 86 singles titles has come on an indoor hard court, back in Madrid in 2005.

Nadal said there were a number of factors for his failure to shine indoors, including fatigue at end-of-season events and a preference for other surfaces.

“We can find excuses or reasons but at the end of the day the numbers are the numbers,” Nadal said.

“I think I have played less indoors than in other places without a doubt.”

The groupings:

Tokyo 1970: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Diego Schwartzman.

London 2020: Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev .