The reduced ATP Tour season draws to a close in London next week when the ATP World Tour Finals graces the o2 Arena in the English capital for the last time with the event taking place behind closed doors to determine who wins the last event of a very different campaign.
It has been a struggle to get this far but despite some events having to be cancelled we have made it to London with the best eight singles and doubles teams of the year on show with Stefanos Tsitsipas looking to defend his singles crown.
Recent Winners
2019 – Stefanos Tsitsipas
2018 – Alexander Zverev
2017 – Grigor Dimitrov
2016 – Andy Murray
2015 – Novak Djokovic
2014 – Novak Djokovic
2013 – Novak Djokovic
2012 – Novak Djokovic
2011 – Roger Federer
2010 – Roger Federer
The Format
We have already had the draw for the singles and doubles events which have seen the eight players and teams put into two groups of four for the opening round. That sees each player or pair playing the other three in their group. At the end of that stage the top two in each group move into the semi-finals where the winner of one group plays the runner up of the other one. The two winning semi-finalists meet in the final for the title on the second Sunday of the event. Each singles match is the best of three sets with a tiebreak in the decider while the doubles are the best of three sets with the third set being a match tiebreak.
Group Tokyo 1970
The world number one and five-time champion Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the tournament this week and he is in the Tokyo 1970 group. He will be well aware that he didn’t come out of the round robin stage last season so he’ll be eager to put that right here. Former US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev is the second highest seed in this group and rates as the main danger to the Serbian although he played three matches here last year and failed to win any of them. He did win the Paris Masters last time out though so he comes here in good form. The man the Russian beat in the final in Paris is Alexander Zverev and the 2018 World Tour Finals champion is the third man in this group looking to get his title back. Diego Schwartzman has qualified for the London showpiece for the first time this year and will be looking to avoid just making up the numbers here.
Group London 2020
Rafael Nadal is the main seed in the second group, the London 2020 group. He won’t need me to tell him his record here is very ordinary. He has never won the title in London and in the 11 previous stagings of the event here he has only made the final twice. He didn’t escape the group last year so the French Open champion will be out to better that at least. He is in a really tough section though it has to be said. US Open champion and 2019 finalist Dominic Thiem is the second highest seed in this group while the defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is also in here. Tournament debutant Andrey Rublev makes up the numbers in this group but having won five events himself this year the Russian isn’t exactly a total outsider either.
Doubles
The doubles looks quality this year and we are guaranteed new champions because Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert are not here. The number one seeds this week are Bruno Soares and Mate Pavic and they are in the Bob Bryan group. They are joined by Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos who won the Rome Masters earlier in the season. John Peers has won this tournament before and he and new partner Michael Venus are here looking for their fourth title of the year. The other team in the group are the last pair into the field in the form of the Sofia finalists Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The Mike Bryan group is the other one in the doubles draw this year and it is headed by the Australian Open champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, the latter being the only Briton in the field this year. They go in search of a second title here but will have to battle it out with the French Open champions Andreas Mies and Kevin Krawietz in this group. US Open finalists Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic are also in this section and the field is completed by the former number one pairing of Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot in what is a seriously tasty group.
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Singles Betting
As a regular attendee of this tournament it is more than a bit annoying that there is no crowd at this event this year and it shouldn’t be ignored the change that this will make to the conditions. Usually this place would be packed with 17500 fans for each session but now it will be a vastly colder arena and as a result it will be much slower so players will have to really hit through the court to be successful this week.
Novak Djokovic is clearly a worthy favourite but this year we’re not having to pick through who is and who isn’t fatigued or injured or anything so the Serb is worth taking on, especially as none of the big three have won this event for five years. I actually think this is the year Dominic Thiem will claim the crown. He has clearly improved on hard courts in the last couple of years. He won Indian Wells last year, made the final here 12 months ago and stormed to the US Open title. He packs a heavy punch and I think he has what it takes to win the London 2020 group and potentially avoid Novak Djokovic in the semi-final. He wouldn’t be without a chance against him in the final but we’d have place money in the bag by then so the powerful Austrian is my pick at 8/1.
Doubles Betting
At the time writing this preview there is only one firm pricing up the doubles event. There might be more in the lead up to the tournament but I’ll put the preview up now because I’m perfectly happy to take the 9/2 on the top seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares ending their year with the o2 crown. I say that because of the top three seeds they look much the strongest. Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury haven’t won an event since the Australian Open and the world has changed since then. They haven’t even made another final since then while the third seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies are more clay specialists than anything and didn’t offer much at all apart from the French Open. They appeared here last year and lost two of their three matches in straight sets.
Of the others I guess you have to respect the form of Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin while the former number one pair of Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot have what it takes to run hot here but have largely flattered to deceive in this event since making the final in 2017. Pavic and Soares are in decent touch. They won the US Open and made the final of the French Open and the Paris Masters. That has all been in the last couple of months so they are one of the form teams with their momentum coming in the biggest events. If the number one seed isn’t a burden on them they look the standout team to me.
Tips
PLACED – Back D.Thiem to win ATP World Tour Finals (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 9.00 with Boylesports (1/3 1-2)
Back him here:
Back M.Pavic & B.Soares to win ATP World Tour Finals Doubles for a 2/10 stake at 5.50 with Coral
Back them here:
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