The 2015 Tour Finals Field
World number one Novak Djokovic headlines the field of eight players
taking part in singles play at the event. For Djokovic, this is his 9th
appearance at the year-end event. He has won the title four times with
three of those coming in London in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Second ranked
Andy Murray plays in the Tour Finals for the seventh time. The Scot has
only made it out of the Round Robin round three times. Roger Federer
heads to London in the third spot in the rankings with a chance to usurp
Murray. Federer has won this event six times and is appearing in this
tournament for a record breaking 14th time. The fourth slot is occupied
by Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss makes it three straight years advancing to
the Tour Finals. He has advanced to the semifinals both previous years.
The field continues with fifth ranked Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is taking part in the Tour Finals for the 11th time. Nadal has never won the event, but has made two appearances in the final in 2010 and 2013. Sixth ranked Tomas Berdych is here for the sixth consecutive year. The 30-year-old Czech has only made it out of the Round Robin stage once back in 2011. David Ferrer makes his return to the field of eight after serving as an alternate in 2014. Ferrer’s best finish at the year-end event came in 2007 when he lost in the final to Roger Federer. Rounding out the field is 8th ranked Kei Nishikori. Nishikori is back for the second straight year. He showed well in his first appearance, making the semifinals where he lost to Djokovic in three sets.
The ATP World Tour Finals has a unique format. The field of eight is divided into a pair of four player groups. Those two groups then go through a Round Robin schedule where each player will play a total of three matches, one against each member of their group. The two players with the best record in each group then advance to the semifinals. There, the top player from Group 1 plays the second player from Group 2, while the top player from Group 2 plays the second player from Group 1. The winners advance to the final. This year’s groups are named after Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase. Smith was the winner of the inaugural Tour Finals in Tokyo in 1970. Nastase was a four time winner of the event with his last championship coming in 1975. The Stan Smith group is comprised of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori. The Ilie Nastase group features Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.
Stan Smith Group Preview
Novak Djokovic will feel fairly comfortable playing in this group. His
main competition comes from Roger Federer whom the Serb has beaten four
of six times already this season. They have split their four meetings on
hard courts this year, but none have come indoors. The most recent
meeting came in the U.S. Open final where Djokovic won his tenth Grand
Slam title 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Federer’s last win against Djokovic came
in Cincinnati in August in the final 7-6 (1), 6-3. Djokovic holds a 2-1
edge in meetings at the Tour Finals with the Serb’s lone win coming back
in the 2010 semifinals. Djokovic is also 20-2 against Berdych,
including 4-0 at the Tour Finals, and 4-2 against Nishikori. It would be
a monumental upset for Djokovic not to claim one of the two spots to
get out of this group.
Roger Federer will be favored to claim the other spot of course and he will open with a familiar opponent in Berdych. The Swiss maestro is 14-6 all-time against the Czech. Federer has won three straight against Berdych over the last two seasons. Berdych’s last wins against Federer came in 2012 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals and then again in 2013 in Dubai. Federer has taken three of five career meetings against Nishikori. The two have not met since 2014 when Federer won both in Halle on grass and then again at last year’s Tour Finals 6-3, 6-2 in the Round Robin stage. Federer has shown amazing consistency at this event over the years. He has failed to make it out of the group stage just once in 13 years. Federer should be comfortable enough against Berdych and Nishikori to get enough to advance.
Nishikori and Berdych will meet in this group for the first time since 2012. The Japanese star has won three of four career battles with all three wins coming on hard surfaces. Berdych would seem to be the longest shot of the four to make it out of the group. Since making the semifinals in 2011, he has gone 1-2 in each of the last three years in Round Robin play. One positive the Czech can take into this week is that Nishikori was banged up at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris a week or so ago. Nishikori retired due to an abdominal injury suffered against Richard Gasquet. That seemed to be a direct result of overcompensating for a back problem which had forced him into a medical timeout in the same match. Berdych may also have some increased confidence after taking Djokovic to a pair of tie breaks in losing to him 7-6, 7-6 in the Paris quarterfinals.
Group Prediction: Djokovic, Federer Advance