As the season’s showpiece event gets under way to mark the beginning of the end of the season, here are a few talking points:
Who can stop Novak Djokovic? The world No 1 has had the best year of his career, winning three majors, six Masters titles and is on a 22-match winning streak going back to August.
Roger Federer will believe he is capable of being the man to halt the Serbian’s momentum.
He has the pedigree. Djokovic may have won three World Tour Finals in succession, but the 17-time grand slam winner has inevitably done well at the tournament, reaching the final in nine of the past 12 years and winning a record six titles.
Making his 14th consecutive appearance at the event, Federer has also won more matches (48) and prize money (US$13 million; Dh47.7m) at the tournament than anyone else.
His form has been a bit wobbly in recent times, making early exits from Paris and Shanghai, but Federer, 34, could have the benefit of extra rest this week in London.
The Swiss is also the only man to beat Djokovic more than once this year – in Dubai, in February; and in Cincinnati, in August, which also is the last time anyone beat the Serbian.
The interesting element is they meet in the group stages as they were both drawn in the Stan Smith Group, along with Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori.
Both will expect to progress to the semi-finals, but it does produce the prospect of them meeting twice over the next eight days, if they each reach the final.
It is tough to look beyond these two for the title, supported by the fact that they have won 10 of the past 12 titles in the event.
Djokovic has to be considered favourite, and deservedly so, but Federer has demonstrated this year he can match him over three sets and he will not lack in belief in looking to do it again.
Murray’s quandary
Can Andy Murray really focus on the World Tour Finals when he has what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the Davis Cup for Great Britain in the following week?
The Scot has made his preferences known and would have sat out this hard-court tournament if not for the ATP’s arm-twisting.
With his heart elsewhere, Murray has not spent much time preparing for the Finals, choosing, instead, to train on clay for the Davis Cup final after returning home following his loss in the final of the Paris Masters.
The 2015 Davis Cup final against Belgium begins on November 27, just five days after the conclusion of the World Tour Finals.
The Cup final will be played on clay, at the Flanders Expo in Ghent and Great Britain’s hopes of winning their first title since 1936 rest on Murray’s shoulders, and his dodgy back, too.
The Scot, then, will have to make sure he does not strain it and reaches Ghent in prime condition, for history beckons.
Nadal’s jinx
This has not been a great year for Rafael Nadal, but that is old news. In recent weeks, the Spaniard has looked more convincing and has some decent results to flaunt.
But can he really up the ante and put a seal on a disappointing 2015 by winning his first World Tour Finals?
It seems a tall order. Nadal has been in the tournament six times, twice as the year-end No 1, and in both those years (2010 and 2013) he made it to the final, but lost to Federer and Djokovic.
He has two semi-finals, as well. Twice he failed to make it out of the group stages. The event has not really been a happy hunting ground for Nadal and the reasons are obvious.
Nine of his 14 grand slam titles have come on clay, as have 19 of his 27 Masters 1000 crowns.
Overall, 47 of his 67 career titles have been on clay, but the end-of-season competition is held indoors, on hard courts.
“I believe that it’s not fair that a player like me really never played on a surface that was a little bit more favourable,” Nadal told The Daily Mail.
“I always played on the worst surface possible for me.”
Stan the Man
It will be interesting to see which Stan Wawrinka arrives at the O2 Arena. The one who can hustle the planet’s best tennis player with his sublime backhands and pierce a virtually impregnable defence at will?
Or the one who can, rather frustratingly, surrender tamely to lesser mortals?
The Swiss is an enigma, and perhaps that is part of his attraction. Predictability is not one of his traits, but, to be fair, he has been pretty consistent since his magnificent French Open upset of Djokovic in the final.
Or, as consistent as his nature allows him to be. Following his Roland Garros conquest, Wawrinka made it to the last eight at Wimbledon and reached the semis of the US Open.
So, in terms of grand slam results (semis at the Australian Open), this has been the best season of his career.
Now, can he close the year on a high by doing better than the semi-finals appearances in his previous two times in this tournament? That will depend on which Wawrinka shows up.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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