Unstoppable Serbian Novak Djokovic this week became only the second player since 1990 to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals before the French Open.

The 23-year-old world number two sealed his place in the finals after beating world number one Rafael Nadal in straight sets in last Sunday’s Rome Masters to extend his unbeaten run this year to 37 matches.

Djokovic’s last loss came in the semi-finals of the Finals last year, to former world number one Roger Federer. He will be competing in the Finals for a fifth successive year, which has seen him win the title once, in 2008.

Nadal was the only previous player to have qualified for the event prior to Roland Garros since 1990.

The tournament, in which the top eight players based on results in the 2011 season compete, runs from November 20-27 in London.

Meanwhile, thanks to his success in Rome, Djokovic continued to close the gap on Nadal atop the ATP world rankings.

The Serb is now just 405 points behind Nadal and will take the number one spot if he reaches the final of the French Open which gets underway at Roland Garros on Sunday.

Top 10 players
1. Nadal 12,070 pts; 2. Djokovic 11,665; 3. Federer 8,390; 4. Murray 6,085; 5. Soderling 5,435; 6. Berdych 4,215; 7. Ferrer 4,060; 8. Melzer 2,850; 9. Monfils 2,465; 10. Fish 2,395.

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