Nadal avoids Federer

London: World number one Rafael Nadal has avoided a date with Roger Federer in the group stages of the ATP Finals and was instead drawn against his US Open final rival Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev, the winner of last year’s competition in London.Federer is set to play against Serbian Novak Djokovic, Austrian Dominic Thiem and Italian Matteo Berrettini. The draw took place after the Nadal confirmed he would be travelling to London on Wednesday to prepare for the competition after he was given the all-clear following an abdominal strain, Efe news reports.He is due to take to the courts on Sunday or Monday against Zverev for what will be the pair’s sixth encounter. Nadal is the favourite to win. (IANS)