Tennis news - Rafael Nadal hoping to be '100%' by ATP Finals opener

Nadal was forced to withdraw from his Paris Masters semi-final meeting with Denis Shapovalov last week due to an abdominal injury but has been training ahead of the season-ending event in London.

His first match is on Monday evening against the reigning champion and the 33-year-old knows he needs to be at the peak of his powers.

“It's a tournament [where] you will face the top guys since the beginning, so you need to be 100 per cent ready,” he is quoted as saying by the ATP's official website.

"But I really hope that I will be able to serve every single day a little better, and my goal is to be on Sunday serving normal.

"I have good hopes to be 100 per cent ready for Monday."

Nadal has never won the ATP Finals but is hoping for a positive result which would help him seal the year-end No.1 position.

"To play here is always a very special thing. [I'm] excited to be back here in London in one of the great events of the year.

"I'm going to try my best to keep producing chances to compete well, and if I'm competing well, I'm playing at my best, I hope to have my chances to have a good result."