The final week of the ATP Tour season takes place under the tent at the o2 Arena in London over the next week as the Barclays ATP Tour Finals brings the curtain down on what has been a fantastic season on the court.
Injuries have put paid to two of the star names in the game in Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer but the eight men doing battle in the singles are all of the requisite quality to win an event like this while the best eight doubles sides in the world also compete for their own season ending title.
If that isn’t enough the battle for the number one spot in the singles is alive and well with Andy Murray looking to hold off Novak Djokovic and extend his spell at the top of the men’s game.
Recent Winners
2015 – Novak Djokovic
2014 – Novak Djokovic
2013 – Novak Djokovic
2012 – Novak Djokovic
2011 – Roger Federer
2010 – Roger Federer
2009 – Nikolay Davydenko
2008 – Novak Djokovic
2007 – Roger Federer
2006 – Roger Federer
The Format
Eight players have been drawn into two groups of four with everyone playing the other in their group once over the first six days of competition. When the groups have been completed the top two in each group move into the semi-final with the winners playing the runners up of the other group ahead of the final a week on Sunday. All matches are the best of three sets.
Group John McEnroe
This is the group which contains the newly crowned world number one Andy Murray but he’ll know his record in this tournament is ordinary at best. This will be his ninth appearance in the tournament and he is yet to make the final. He’ll need to do that and some to retain his number one ranking.
The other three men in this group are of the highest quality too so whoever comes out of this section is going to have to have played some sensational tennis. Seedings wise the US Open champion Stan Wawrinka is the highest of the three but Olympic semi-finalist Kei Nishikori and Wimbledon quarter finalist Marin Cilic won’t lie down for anyone.
Group Ivan Lendl
Novak Djokovic is looking for an amazing fifth successive Tour Finals title. Clearly he hasn’t been at his best in the second half of the year but he loves the o2 so it would be a dangerous move to oppose him.
With no disrespect intended you could be forgiven for thinking that Djokovic hand drew his group himself because he has landed alongside Milos Raonic and the two debutants Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem in what looks a penalty kick of a group for the defending champion.
Doubles
The best eight doubles pairs in the game head to London this week including the three Grand Slam winning pairs and the Bryan Brothers who are always a popular combination.
The Bryans find themselves in a real group of death in the Edberg/Jarryd one. They are in with the Australian and US Open champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares while Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo are no pushovers. Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi are the other pairing in their group.
In the Fleming/McEnroe group the French number one pairing of Mahut and Herbert are joined by the French Open champions Marc and Feliciano Lopez, Henri Kontinen and John Peers and Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen.
Betting
I might be mad but I think this is a golden opportunity to take on the top two in the world. Murray’s record here leaves plenty to be desired while Djokovic hasn’t looked right ever since he won the French Open and both are plenty short enough based on those reasons. If I was backing one of the two it would have to be Djokovic. His record here is insane and he has a near enough walkover into the semis.
I considered taking them on with Marin Cilic. All the talk is that the court is going to play quicker this year and on a par with the one in Paris and Cilic was a semi-finalist there and is clearly playing well having won his first Masters tournament recently but his losing record against all three group opponents puts me off that.
Instead I’m siding with the US Open champion Stan Wawrinka. Wawrinka always raises his game against the big opponents and in the big tournaments and he has been unlucky not to go to the final of this tournament before. He has lost to Roger Federer in the last two semi-finals in an absolute barnstormer two years ago before he ran into the legend at his best 12 months ago.
The speeding up of the court will do Wawrinka no harm with his powerful ground strokes and if he has to play Novak Djokovic we know he can beat him so at 12/1 the Swiss star is my idea of the value this week.
The doubles tournament should be a good spectacle as always. I’m going nowhere near the Edberg group with the standard of sides in there. Anyone could come through that. In the other group you would expect the French pair to come through but the value could lie in the Henri Kontinen & John Peers combination.
The Finaussie combo have suddenly caught fire having made the final of the Shanghai Masters event and then winning in Paris last weekend so we know they are in form. Kontinen especially will have a good feeling about being back in London having won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon the last time he was in the English capital. They could be the side to beat in a tournament of good pairings.
Tips
Back S.Wawrinka to win ATP World Tour Finals (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 13.00 with Betfair (1/3 1-2)
Back him here:
WON – Back J.Peers & H.Kontinen to win ATP World Tour Finals Doubles for a 2/10 stake at 7.00 with Betfred
Back them here:
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