The last time Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, & Roger Federer did not play the ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic’s ATP Finals withdrawal signifies the end of an era at the year-end championships.
The Serbian and key rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had been mainstays at the event for the best part of two decades, but with Federer retired, Nadal retiring, and Djokovic out, none of the ‘Big Three’ will compete this season.
You have to go back 23 years to 2001 to find the last ATP Finals where none of the three were in action, and the tennis landscape was certainly a lot different then.
Hewitt champion on home soil
Though there was no ‘Big Three’ representation, the field at the 2001 ATP Finals – then called the Tennis Masters Cup – was still stacked.
Seven of the eight players in the tournament were past or future Grand Slam champions, with seventh seed Sebastien Grosjean the only man entered to not win a major at some stage in his career.
Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Goran Ivanisevic, and Lleyton Hewitt – the four major winners that season – were all in action in Sydney.
Pat Rafter, who had previously won two US Open titles, two-time Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and future French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero also qualified.
Ultimately it was US Open champion Hewitt who lifted the title, wowing his home crowd with a flawless run to the title.
In group stage action, the second seed defeated Agassi and compatriot Rafter in straight sets and rallied from a set down to defeat Grosjean.
Hewitt then beat Ferrero in straight sets to reach his first year-end championships final, where he defeated Grosjean 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to lift the title.
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Year-end rankings
The ATP Finals often have a significant impact on the year-end rankings – and that was certainly the case 23 years ago.
Hewitt’s run to the title was enough to see him rise to world No 1 for the first time and finish the season atop the rankings.
Heading into the event, French Open champion Kuerten had been world No 1, though the Brazilian lost all three of his group matches – and never returned to the top of the rankings.
However, the three-time Roland Garros winner still finished the year in second, with Agassi, Kafelnikov, and Ferrero rounding out the top five.
ATP Finals runner-up Grosjean finished the season in sixth, with Rafter in seventh and Tommy Haas – who did not play in the Finals due to Ivanisevic’s qualification – in eighth.
Tim Henman finished the year in ninth, with ATP icon and US Open runner-up Pete Sampras in 10th.
What about Djokovic, Nadal, & Federer?
2001 marked a significant year for Nadal as it was the season the 15-year-old turned professional, though Djokovic did not turn pro until 2003.
The only one of the three in regular ATP action at this point was Federer, who turned 20 midway through the season.
Federer finished 2001 at 13th in the rankings, just missing out on the ATP Finals but making huge strides across a significant 12 months.
Having finished 2000 as the world No 29, the Swiss cracked the top 20 and made his first Grand Slam quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Most notably, he stunned seven-time SW19 champion Sampras at the All England Club – in the only meeting between the two greats.
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