Fall swing to decide race between Nadal and Federer, plus six more London spots

There is always a calm after the storm that is the U.S. Open, as the fall swing struggles to get going in advance of Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris followed by the season-ending World Tour Finals. Of course, this year there was a little bit more on the immediate post-U.S. Open menu. The inaugural Laver Cup thrilled fans in Prague, where Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, and John Isner were among the participants.

Now the more standard ATP Tour action has resumed, with unheralded 250-point tournaments in Chengu and Shenzhen taking place. Only two top 10 players entered those events, and just one remains (Thiem lost his Shenzhen opener to Guido Pella, while Zverev is still alive in the Chengdu quarterfinals). Find Online Tennis Betting Odds for Chengdu and Shenzhen.

The Japan Open and China Open, both worth 500 points, are on next week’s more intriguing schedule. Nadal, Thiem, Zverev, Isner, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Grigor Dimitrov, and Marin Cilic are among those expected to participate.

The Shanghai Masters begins on Oct. 8, followed by Basel two weeks after that and Paris a week later. There is one week off in between Paris and the World Tour Finals in London.

There is still much to play for in terms of year-end ranking. Nadal’s lead on Federer for No. 1 is just about at 2,000 points thanks to the Spaniard’s recent Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. The 36-year-old certainly has a mathematical chance to overtake Nadal prior to season’s end, but he would likely have to win two out of the big three tournaments in Shanghai, Paris, and London.

If Federer feels like he has no chance at No. 1, Paris may be scrapped from his schedule.

“Next weeks will be extremely important with Shanghai, Basel, maybe Paris, and ATP Finals in London,” the Swiss noted. “My goal is to get to Shanghai early, maybe on Friday. Basel will take priority over Bercy. [The year-end world No. 1 ranking] became a little bit secondary for me as Nadal got far away. I will focus on myself and I will play only when I am ready.”

Only Nadal and Federer have clinched spots in the elite eight-man field at the year-end championship. If it ended now, Zverev, Thiem, Dimitrov, Cilic, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Sam Querrey would also make the cut.