Features

Murray eyes home success

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 23/11/2009
Tennis betting

With the 2009 Tennis season reaching its climax, eight men have qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London.

The final competition of the season begins on November 22 and the star-studded line-up will feature Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro, Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Soderling.

It is a competition set aside for the world's top ranked players and unlike the majority of tournaments on the circuit, the ATP World Tour Finals is not a straightforward knock-out.

There are two groups of four and each player will play the men in their group once.

Those who finish in the top two will progress to the semi-finals, with the winners meeting on November 29 to determine the victor.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic took the honours last year following his success against Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and he is the sportsbook favourite to win the competition this year.

Will Novak Djokovic retain his ATP World Tour Finals crown this year? - Latest Tennis Betting

The five years before this, world number one Roger Federer won the title in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007 and he contested the final in 2005 but lost out to Argentine David Nalbandian.

Federer has cemented his place at the top of the rankings after winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

He also made the Australian Open final before being beaten by Rafael Nadal.

Nadal himself has ended up second in the rankings thanks to his successes at the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Masters events at Rome, Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Indian Wells.

World number three Djokovic can count last week's ATP World Tour Masters win in Paris and victories in Basel, Beijing, Belgrade and Dubai as the reason for his lofty finish.

Britain's Andy Murray claimed six titles this season including the London Queen's Club crown in the lead up to the Wimbledon championships while number five rank Juan Martin Del Potro spectacularly defeated Federer in the US Open final back in September.

Andy Roddick finished sixth in the rankings after he won the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis whilst losing to Federer in the Wimbledon final but he has had to withdraw from the season's finale due to an injury to his left knee.

Soderling has been given the nod to replace him while number seven rank Davydenko won the ATP World Tour Masters in Shanghai as well as events in Kuala Lumpur, Umag in Croatia and Hamburg in what has been his most successful season since 2006.

Finally, Verdasco has earned his place among the elite following a single victory at Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, at the end of August in the lead up to the US Open.

He also reached the Australian Open semi-finals, the final at Kuala Lumpur as well as a spate of semi-final appearances that helped him scrape into the eighth and final spot for this year's competition.

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