Rafael Nadal enters the season finale as the top ranked player and player of the year. He has enjoyed great success this season but has yet to win this event, which favors more aggressive players, on the fast indoor court. Novak Djokovic is the defending champion and looks to defend his title and reassert himself as the top player. He has the toughest group but is in great form and has the stamina to prevail. Roger Federer has endured a difficult season but recent strong performances show he cannot be counted out, though his group is unfavorable.

1. The season’s finale at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London has finally arrived. After 11
months on the tour, the best eight players in the world will compete at the O2 arena, with all of them
feeling as though they have a chance.
Group A
Rafael Nadal (4 Sportingbet)
What a season Nadal has enjoyed, achieving a phenomenal 68/5 win to loss ratio this season. Nadal is
undoubtedly the player of the year, and will enter London looking to secure the year end number one
ranking. Of the 15 tournaments he has entered this season, only once has Nadal failed to make the
semi finals stage; and having arguably been drawn into the easier group, Nadal should make the semi-
final stages once again. Overall Nadal holds a 48-7 win to loss career record over his group A
opposition.
However, Nadal has yet to win the event, despite having appeared five times previously. The fast
indoor surface clearly doesn’t suit Nadal’s game, with his best showing coming in 2010 where he
made the final. Despite incorporating more aggression into his game this season, he has still fallen
short during this season’s indoor swing. Having not won an indoor title since 2005 in Madrid I expect
Nadal to fall just short again.
David Ferrer (34 Winner)
Ferrer has once again punched above his weight this season. He enters London with a renewed sense
that his form has returned, beating Nadal in Paris on a similar court surface, and pushing Djokovic in
the final, losing in two tightly contested sets. However, taking a more long term look, Ferrer since
Roland Garros has lost to six different players outside the top 20 this season. He also struggles to find
the winning formula when facing the top players, having won just 9 times in 53 outings against Nadal,
Djokovic and Federer. Having a less than impressive 8-7 win to loss record at this event, a semi final
appearance is surely the best Ferrer can ask for.
Tomas Berdych (29 Sportingbet)
Berdych enters London as the only player to have qualified, despite having not won a title this season.
Furthermore, he enters London as the most out of form player, having endured early losses at both
Shanghai and Basel, two court surfaces very similar to London. Even more worryingly, he was
defeated by group opponent Ferrer in Paris last week, an event much like the one in London, in which
Berdych would have expected to hold a distinct advantage over Ferrer. Additionally, Berdych’s record
against all of his group A opponents reads unfavourably. Berdych will be lucky to win one match this
year, and I would recommend staying well clear of him.
Stanislas Wawrinka (52 Betfair)
This season, Wawrinka has finally realised his undoubted potential and has been rewarded by a debut
appearance in London this year. The world number 8 has amassed an impressive 47/20 win to loss
ratio this season. On his day, Wawrinka can beat or certainly push the very best players, especially on
a fast hard court. With heavy ground-strokes from both wings, he has the weapons to cause problems
for all of his group A opponents. However I expect Wawrinka, despite all this to fall just short. I
expect Ferrer’s and Nadal’s overall class to prove just too much for Wawrinka at London. Yet if one
of his opponents is just slightly of his game, Wawrinka could well cause the odd upset this week.

2. Group B
Novak Djokovic (2.2 Skybet)
Djokovic enters London looking to defend his title he won in style last year. He will also be looking
to re-assert himself at the top of the men’s game, having gone on an undefeated run since his US
Open final loss to Nadal in early September. He has the toughest draw possible however, with an
opening fixture against the six time champion Federer on Tuesday, following on from an exhausting
Paris final against David Ferrer. However if one man has the stamina to prevail through this tough
group and go all the way this week is Djokovic himself, having on countless occasions defied what is
possible physically, by a tennis player. He enjoys favourable head to head results especially this
season against all of his group B opponents, and the court surface will only aid his challenge further.
He enters as undoubtedly the most in form player and it would only be through an outstanding display
by one of his opponents or fatigue that will deny Djokovic from retaining his title.
Juan Martin Del Potro (9 Sportingbet)
Behind Djokovic, Del Potro represents the most in-form player entering London this week. He is
approaching the kind of form that had many pundits predicting he would reach world number 1 back
in 2009 after his win at the US Open. In the same year, he also reached the final of this event. His all
power and aggressive game certainly favours the court surface in London and has furthermore
amassed the majority of his titles indoors, his most recent being in Basel two weeks ago, defeating
fellow group B contender Roger Federer in the final. However a word of caution, despite being in
fantastic form, there is still a theory that Del Potro struggles at the business end of tournaments. This
is highlighted by the fact that his US Open win in 2009 represents his only triumph above a 500 event
level. Having to most likely play Federer, Nadal and Djokovic twice in less than a week to triumph in
London, Del Potro needs to produce his ‘A’ game to stand a chance of lifting the trophy.
Roger Federer (11 Paddypower)
The 32 year old has endured a testing season by his very high standards. A disappointing summer led
to question marks over Federer’s future in the game to compete at the very highest level. However his
recent showings in both Basel and Paris have shown there is still life in the old dog, and having won
the event a record six times, Federer’s challenge should not be taken lightly. Having gained revenge
over Del Potro in Paris just last week and pushing Djokovic all the way, it shows that the statistic that
Federer this season had failed to beat a fellow top 10 player prior to defeating Del Potro in Paris since
the Australian Open should not be seen as a major factor. Furthermore, Federer boasts the best
indoors record of the currently active players on tour and was a finalist at this event last year.
However much like Del Potro, the draw is unfavourable and so therefore making it unlikely that
Federer will finish a tough 2013 season on a high.
Richard Gasquet (133 Betfair)
Gasquet is the rank outsider, and despite a title in Moscow, his chances of another title in London are
very slim at best. A semi-final run at the US Open shows Gasquet is worthy of his inclusion, however
one can’t help but wonder Gasquet only secured his place in London due to the withdrawal of Andy
Murray. Drawn in the group of death, Gasquet should expect a disappointing end to an otherwise
promising season.