Tennis Biggest Stage Is Set For Nitto ATP World Tour Finals in London • Buy Tickets

By Ricky Dimon

 

It came down to the last day of the proverbial regular season, but the stage is finally set for the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals. Eight singles players and 16 doubles participants will take the court at the O2 Arena in London for an eight-day tennis extravaganza starting on Sunday.

 

The singles field features Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, and Jack Sock. Two spots remained up for grabs heading into last week’s Rolex Paris Masters, where Goffin and Sock got the job done. Sock had to capture the title in order to secure a spot in London, and that is exactly what he did.

 

“There have been a lot of firsts (for me in Paris),” Sock said after winning a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career. “It started at the French Open with my first fourth round of a slam, now I’ve won my first Masters 1000 in Paris. This will be my first time in the top 10 and this will be the first time making the year-end finals.”

 

Sock and the rest of the field will find out their round-robin groups on Wednesday. As the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, Nadal and Federer are guaranteed to be on opposite sides.

 

The two groups will once again be named after past champions, a tradition established by The Finals Club–an initiative launched by the ATP in 2015. This year’s singles groups are named after Pete Sampras (Group A) and Boris Becker (Group B). Sampras was the 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 1999 winner of the year-end championship. Becker lifted the trophy in 1988, 1992, and 1995.

 

In doubles, Group A is named for Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who won the tournament in 1992 and 1996. Group B honors Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, champions in 1993 and 1998.

 

This year’s doubles field is as follows:

1) Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot

2) Henri Kontinen and John Peers

3) Jean-Julien Roger and Horia Tecau

4) Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares

5) Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

6) Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut

7) Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers

8) Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.