Just when you thought you wouldn't see yet ANOTHER tennis post, another one creeps along and here it is!! Just a quick one about the ATP World Tour Finals, which is coming up next week in London, as the draw for the event has been announced this week and it looks like quite an exciting set up (well we know that anyway).
The format of the event is pretty much the same as the WTA, as there will be two groups, and four players in each group, and it has been announced that in Group A there will be Djokovic, Murray, Ferrer and Berdych, while in Group B we will have Nadal, Federer, Tsonga and Fish. So its a mouth watering set up and without a doubt each player will have their hands full with whoever they play at each stage. But the big question is, who out of those eight players stands the best chance of winning the title? Its a tough one, but for me personally I think the two players that have best chance are Djokovic and Federer, and if I was a betting fella I would probably wager on Federer. I say Federer because since he has come back into the tour, he has been playing some incredible tennis reminiscent of his glory days, and on that kind of form, he is impossible to beat. But on the other hand, Djokovic has had the best year of his life on the tennis court and has played tennis that has been at times out of orbit, especially earlier in the year when he was on that amazing 41 match winning streak. So to dismiss Djokovic would be insane, and if he has recovered sufficiently from his shoulder injury he would be an utterly formidable opponent.
Then we have Rafa, who has taken some time out from the game to get himself prepped for this event and the Davis cup, but I have to say I wouldn't rate his chances quite as strongly as the other two guys, simply because Rafa for one has been beaten by Djokovic six times in a row now, not only that he was defeated by Roger last year. But however given that extra training time, Rafa might just be in with a shout all the same of lifting that elusive year end championship trophy.
Now we get on to Andy Murray, and overall Andy has had a great season, 5 titles, one slam final, and three semi finals, he is also the home favourite, and will get the best support, but can he win what would be the biggest title of his career???? Hmmmmmmmmm, against these other guys it seems doubtful, he can do it for sure if he serves and plays well enough, but it is a mighty big ask. Andy also has to contend with Djokovic and Berdych in his group, and depending on how Djoko is, he could again prove to be very tough. Also there is Berdych who last week defeated Andy in Paris, who again could prove to be a tricky customer, so there is a danger that Andy could go out early from the tournament. For Andy's sake I hope he doesn't and hopefully he will get revenge on Berdych for his loss at Paris, it would also be perfect place to do it. In fact out of those players, Ferrer should be the easiest for Andy to play, but having said that, Ferrer is no pushover either, so all round it will be tough for him. But just maybe with the home crowd behind him, it might prove possible for Andy to move to those later stages.
After that we also have Tsonga and Fish, but I have to say I don't rate either of those players chances quite as much, particularly Fish, who despite being a very talented player, hasn't quite got the chops to win a big title. Tsonga on the other hand does have the chops, but he can appear to fall that bit short on the big occassions, regardless though, he could do very well as he has already beaten Federer and Rafa this year, but with the year end championships, it is a bigger deal, and the big guys will bring their A-game to the proceedings.
So there's not long now before the event starts, its going to be a great one, and plenty of terrific tennis awaits, till then that'll do for now.
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