Rafael Nadal has once again said that he would like to see the ATP World Tour Finals played on clay, instead of the indoor hard court surface it has been regularly been contested on.
The season-ending tournament began in 1970 in Tokyo and has been held at a number of different locations all over the world. It has most commonly been played on indoor hard courts and carpet, and was even once played on grass. It has never been played on clay.
“I am not sure if it is 100 percent fair that we qualify for the World Tour Finals playing on grass, hard, clay and indoors, and since 2005, when I qualified for the first time], it is already 11 years that every single time [it has been played] on indoor hard courts,” [Nadal told the *Daily Mail*.
Nadal has won 67 career titles, but he has never won the ATP World Tour Finals. Currently ranked No. 5, Nadal reached the final of the World Tour Finals in 2010 and 2013. The hard court in London’s O2 Arena is considered to be a slightly faster surface, conditions that don’t favor Nadal’s game.
“I believe that it's not fair that a player like me really never played on a surface that was a little bit more favorable,” said Nadal. “I always played on the worst surface possible for me. If it's indoor at London, then great, but you can build a different type of surface there. It is a fantastic place to organize a World Tour Finals. The atmosphere is just amazing and I am very happy it is there. I enjoy it every time I have had the chance to be there, but we can play on clay there too.”
During Friday’s draw for the round-robin groups, it was announced that the World Tour Finals will remain at the O2 Arena, and presumably on an indoor hard court, until at least in 2018.