Rafa qualifies for ATP World Tour Finals.

 

Originally published on: 09/06/11 18:11

Following his win on Wednesday at the AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club in London, Rafael Nadal, who captured his sixth Roland Garros crown in seven years on Sunday, has become the second player to qualify for the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Nadal’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Australia’s Matthew Ebden means that the Spaniard now counts sufficient South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings points to ensure himself a place among the world’s Top 8 singles players at the season finale in London. The 25-year-old Spaniard joins Serb Novak Djokovic as the first players to qualify for the event, to be held November 20-27 at The O2 in London.
 
“It’s always a pleasure to play in London. It’s a fantastic city and The O2 stadium is one of the nicest indoor stadiums in the world,” said the Mallorca native. “It was a fantastic tournament last year for me, playing in the final, with very emotional matches. I’m very happy to be qualified and to come back again this year.”

Nadal, who tied Bjorn Borg’s record of six Roland Garros titles, is the top seed in this week’s AEGON Championships at the Queen’s Club in London. The Spaniard has reached a career-best seven consecutive finals (3-4 mark) on the season heading into this week’s grass court event at The Queen’s Club.

This is the seventh straight year Nadal has qualified for the year-end finale. Last season he reached his first final, losing to rival Roger Federer in three sets.

Nadal has ranked No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings for 99 weeks, including the past 53. He first became No. 1 on Aug. 18, 2008 and he held the top spot for 46 weeks.

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