Novak Djokovic will bid to win an unprecedented fifth successive title at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals next week, and a record-equalling sixth crown overall. Over the past four years, the Serbian has often produced his best performances on the blue court at The O2 in London, including a 15-match winning streak. His only loss came in a 2015 round-robin defeat to Federer, whom he went onto beat in last year’s final. In his four recent visits to the Greenwich peninsula, he has put together a 18-1 record and lost only eight sets. By comparison, fellow five-time season finale titlist Ivan Lendl, who reached nine straight finals between 1980-1988, put together a 15-match winning streak at the event between...
To be the best, you have to beat the best. To win the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, that means beating a stream of Top 10 players. Four players in the eight-man field – Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic – have six or more Top 10 wins this season. As a five-time tournament champion, it's no surprise that World No. 2 Djokovic has consistently been the top performer against the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Win-Loss Index. This year alone he has posted a ruthless 18-3 record (.857), including a 14-match win streak to open the year. The Serbian's career index of .680 is also the best among the elite eight in London. "I have...
There are all sorts of perks to being tennis’s centre of gravity, the resident of the rankings penthouse, the figure on the top line of every draw sheet. For one thing, winning never loses its savour. Success is its own reward, especially in competitive sport. Besides that, the top player – and only the top player – experiences that aura of walking into a locker room each time knowing he is the man to beat. Yes, there are also the material trappings of being the World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, with the endorsements and the celebrity opportunity and the income. And yet, as the cliché goes, one can be the loneliest number. It can be solitary and...
Kei Nishikori can fill a stadium without even playing a match. Anyone who had imagined that the Japanese public’s love and hysteria for Nishikori couldn’t possibly become any more intense – that peak-Kei had already been established – was made to reconsider during this season’s Tokyo tournament. That was when one of his practice sessions drew an audience of more than 9,000. That figure even astounded some of the tournament’s organisers (who have seen some hysteria in their time, having previously not publicised his training schedule for fear of a crush). It would seem we have reached a new level of intensity in the relationship between Nishikori and his public – you suspect that crowds will now gather in Tokyo if...
For the second consecutive year, fans will celebrate a new year-end No. 1 doubles team and doubles player on the ATP World Tour. And it will all come down to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which starts Sunday at The O2 in London. Buy Tickets Now Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, currently No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings, control their fate in both races. The Frenchmen can clinch the team year-end No. 1 with their first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title. Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Points By Round - Final Year-End Doubles Ranking Points Herbert/Mahut W F SF 3-0 2-1 1-2 0-3 3-0 9325 8825 8425 8425 2-1 9125 8625 8225 8225 1-2 8925...