Seven Vie For Two Remaining London Berths In Paris

Tomas Berdych is in unfamiliar territory this week at the BNP Paribas Masters. He is 10th in the Emirates ATP Race To London and No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, marking his first week outside of the world rankings’ Top 10 since reaching the 2010 Wimbledon final as the World No. 13. In the 329 weeks since then, Berdych has qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and ended the year at No. 6 or No. 7 on six straight occasions. Both of those streaks are on the line Tuesday when the 2005 BNP Paribas Masters champion plays his opening match in Paris.

Berdych trails Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic for the final two vacancies at the year-end championships. The 6-foot-5 Czech must come out of Andy Murray’s quarter and reach the semi-finals this week for any chance at returning to The O2 for the seventh consecutive year. Needing three straight victories, Berdych enters Paris on a three-match losing streak. He begins his last gasp for qualification against Joao Sousa on Court Central. Defeat Tuesday will end Berdych's hopes of making it to London.

Berdych says that he looks forward to the pressure and challenge this week. "I'm playing for a lot and I always like it when there is some extra spice," he said.

In the other half of the draw, Thiem and Cilic control their own destinies, with both sitting in the final qualification positions. Cilic soared to 3,090 points with his title run at the Swiss Indoors Basel and is now 210 points ahead of Berdych.

"There were a lot of things at stake for me and looking ahead to the [Emirates ATP] Race To London, this can decide a lot," Cilic said. "I was really motivated to be focused on every point... Next week is Paris and it's another important week for the Race To London and to finish the season well. I hope to play well there."

Sixth seed Thiem and ninth seed Cilic reside in the same half of the draw and could meet in the semi-finals. Looking to make his debut at the season finale, the Austrian opens against either Jack Sock or Philipp Kohlschreiber, while the Croatian will face either qualifier Dusan Lajovic or countryman Ivo Karlovic.

The five players in pursuit of Thiem and Cilic are Berdych, David Goffin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Roberto Bautista Agut and Lucas Pouille. Goffin (2,690 points) must reach his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final to have a chance of qualifying, while Tsonga (2,370), Bautista Agut (2,340) and Pouille (2,106) need to win the title for their shot at joining the elite eight.

The lone player chasing Thiem and Cilic who may not need to reach the Paris final is Berdych, who currently has 2,880 Emirates ATP Race To London points. The Czech must advance as far as the semis to have a chance at appearing in the season finale for the seventh consecutive year. A quarter-final date with second seed and World No. 1 hopeful Andy Murray has blockbuster potential.

A pair of third-round match-ups with significant London implications are on the horizon, with Berdych vs. Bautista Agut and Cilic vs. Goffin looming large. Berdych is also in the same quarter of the draw as Pouille. Tsonga, meanwhile, will have to fight past fifth seed Kei Nishikori and fourth seed Milos Raonic to escape his quarter.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals - The Remaining Contenders
Based on the Emirates ATP Race To London standings as of Sunday, 30 October 2016. Two qualification berths remain.

Two Doubles Berths Remain
Following the qualification of Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, two doubles spots are up for grabs in Paris. No. 7 Henri Kontinen and John Peers and No. 8 Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi hold the inside track, with defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 295 points back. The Dutch-Romanian duo must reach the semi-finals to have a chance at returning to The O2 in London.

The two other teams in contention are the Colombian Power of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, who must reach the Paris final and Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who need to win the title.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has established itself as the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. Tickets to the tournament, which takes place from 13-20 November, can be purchased at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.