ATP World Tour Finals Groups Announced

The two groups have been announced for next week`s (9th November) ATP World Tour Finals in London with World Number One Novak Djokovic avoiding the tournament`s second favourite Roger Federer in the early stages of the competition.

Serbian Djokovic is the Evens (Numerous) favourite to make it three wins in successive years and four titles in total. Indeed another London World Tour Finals crown would see him tied in the all-time rankings with Romanian Ilie Nastase, who dominated the competition in the early 1970s.

The Paris Masters triumphant has been given a sweet draw, placed in Group A alongside Marin Cilic, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych.

Croatian Cilic has Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the tournament needing appendix surgery, to thank for his appearance after officially only occupying ninth position in the World Rankings. At 20/1 (888sport) the 26 year old is an outsider for the competition and will be looking to record his first ever win over the World Number One. Their ATP head-to-head stands at 10-0 to the Serbian.

Cilic began the season well, sitting at the top of the tree on home soil in Zagreb before landing his first ever Grand Slam by seeing off Kei Nishikori at Flushing Meadows. The last of his four crownings came in October as he lifted Russia`s Kremlin Cup on his favoured hard court.

Despite being ranked fourth in the world, Swiss superstar Stan Wawrinka is another outsider (25/1 - Numerous). Prior to grabbing his first Grand Slam this year, reigning supreme on the plexicushion surface of the Australian Open against runner-up Nadal, Wawrinka took home the Chennai Open to commence an electric start to the season. Things have tailed off however, and has found himself unable to reach an ATP final since seeing off Federer in the Monte-Carlo Masters back in April.

Group A is rounded off with Tomas Berdych whom Stan James are offering at 22/1. Six foot five Berdych couldn`t overcome the might of Djokovic in their only meeting in the final of the China Open this year (6-0,6-2) though did beat fellow Group A rival Cilic in the final of the ATP World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (6-4, 6-2). The win was followed up with a hard-earned victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the Stockholm Open (5-7, 6-4, 6-4). In Group B, Federer is best priced 10/3 with Coral to rack up his seventh ATP World Tour finals victory and extend his lead at the top of the aforementioned all-time leaderboard. To do so he will have to make his way past home hope Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion first picked up the crown in Houston, Texas in 2003 and has a neat trend of winning the trophy in consecutive pairs of years (2003 and 2004, 2006 and 2007, 2010 and 2011). Should he have his hand lifted on the 16th November, plenty of money will be placed on him for the 2015 renewal!

Three-time ATP 2014 champion Murray is a 13/2 (Coral) shot for the title. The draw has thrown up a tasty tie between Dunblaine-born Murray and the World Number Two. The pair`s ATP head-to-head record currently stands at 11 all (10 all on hard surfaces).

Fourteen to one hope (Numerous) Kei Nishikori has enjoyed his best season by far scooping multiple titles for the first time in his career. After opening his account with a win in Tennessee, the last of the 24-year-old`s titles came on home soil after seeing off Milos Raonic 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4 in Tokyo`s Japan Open.

Raonic (18/1 - Coral, Stan James, william hill) is the eighth and final competitor to qualify for the competition. Ranked eighth in the world, the Canadian managed to secure one title with his Paris Masters hopes dashed in last week`s final against eventual winner Djokovic (6-2, 6-3).

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03/11/2014     © Frixo 2026