Round Robin Groups Announced For Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Murray, Bryan twins attend draw ceremony at London Eye

Four-time titlist Federer to face Murray, Del Potro, Verdasco in Group A

Defending champion Djokovic to meet Nadal, Davydenko, Soderling in Group B

London, England — British favourite Andy Murray and two-time former titlists Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan attended the draw ceremony for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the world’s biggest ever indoor tennis tournament, at the London Eye on Wednesday.

ATP World Tour No. 1 Roger Federer and Murray feature in Group A at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, while No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal and defending champion Novak Djokovic will headline Group B.

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"It's going to be great,” commented Murray. “Obviously I'm looking forward to it. It's a new tournament for London. To get a chance to play against Federer, maybe Nadal here, the crowd is going to be great with over 250,000 tickets sold so I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great group of players, probably the strongest we've had in quite a few years."

The full line-up for Group A sees US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco join Federer and Murray, while 2008 runner-up Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Swede Robin Soderling complete Group B with Nadal and Djokovic.

Group A
Roger Federer (SUI)
Andy Murray (GBR)
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Group B
Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
Robin Soderling (SWE)

The strong line-up in Group A will treat fans at The O2 to some compelling match-ups. Four-time former winner Federer and Murray will meet at the prestigious season climax for the second time.

"Whoever you draw is going to be tough,” said Murray, who reached the semi-finals in Shanghai last year. “Obviously I look forward to playing Roger. I've played Juan a few times on the tour recently and also had a close match recently with Verdasco indoors in Valencia. It's a tough group but if I play well I think I have a good chance of qualifying."

Federer, who captured four titles from five straight finals between 2003-2007, will also have the chance to avenge his US Open final defeat to Del Potro. Djokovic, this season’s ATP World Tour match wins leader, faces stiff competition if he is to defend his title from Davydenko, in a repeat of the 2008 final, and Nadal, who the Serbian beat in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris last week. In another intriguing clash, Nadal will meet debutant Soderling for the first time since the Swede handed Nadal his first-ever defeat at Roland Garros in May.

Federer and Nadal are in a battle to be crowned 2009 ATP World Tour Champion. Nadal currently trails Federer by 945 points in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, but with 1,500 points available for an undefeated champion at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals there is all to play for.

The world’s top two doubles pairings Daniel Nestor-Nenad Zimonjic and the Bryan twins lead Groups A and B respectively.

Group A
Daniel Nestor - Nenad Zimonjic
Mahesh Bhupathi - Mark Knowles
Frantisek Cermak - Michal Mertinak
Mariusz Fyrstenberg - Marcin Matkowski

Group B
Bob Bryan - Mike Bryan
Lukas Dlouhy - Leander Paes
Lukasz Kubot - Oliver Marach
Max Mirnyi - Andy Ram

Nestor and Zimonjic and the Bryans are once again locked in a battle to be crowned ATP World Tour Champions. The Wimbledon champions Nestor and Zimonjic have a healthy lead of 830 points going into the season finale, but there are 1,500 points on offer for any undefeated champion.

"It was a spectacular place to do the draw with such an amazing view of London up there,” said Bob Bryan. “We're really excited to be playing in the tournament at such a great venue. We went to see Beyonce on Monday night at The O2 and the place rocked. Every match from the first to the last is going to be really tough and we're looking forward to the challenge."

More than 250,000 tickets have been sold and only a limited number of tickets remain. The O2 is set to be a fantastic host for the eight-day singles and doubles tournament. Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster or by calling 0844 847 2495 within the UK. Overseas customers should call +44 161 372 0025. For more information please visit www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.

Verdasco, Davydenko close in on London as Tsonga lurks

PARIS (AFP) – Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Spain's Fernando Verdasco tightened their grips on the remaining places at the ATP World Tour Finals in London by reaching the third round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

Sixth seed Davydenko cruised past Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-1 at the Bercy arena but seventh seed Verdasco was made to dig deep against Italian Andreas Seppi before eventually prevailing 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-4.

French defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga remained in the hunt for a place at the November 22-29 event in the English capital, however, with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Spain's Albert Montanes.

Tsonga, who booked his place in last year's Tour finals by winning here, romped to the first set in just under 22 minutes.

He encountered stiffer resistance in the second before grabbing the decisive break in the 11th match when Montanes double-faulted and went on to seal a 62-minute victory with a forehand winner.

"I have to win the tournament to qualify, as long as Verdasco doesn't make the final," said Tsonga, the eighth seed.

"If I get to the final and Verdasco is there, I'll try to win it anyway!" added Tsonga, who next plays compatriot Gilles Simon after he prevailed in three sets over Croatian Ivan Ljubicic.

Tsonga is one of three players, alongside Robin Soderling and Fernando Gonzalez, who still have a chance of pipping Davydenko and Verdasco in the race to London but all three need to at least reach the Paris final to do so.

Six of the world's top players have already secured their places and Davydenko and Verdasco, who currently occupy the last two qualifying spots, are the hot favourites to join them.

"I need to win all the matches I can to qualify for myself and not wait to see how other players do," said Verdasco.

"It was my big challenge for this year and this week is the last week. After this, everything will be decided. So I'm giving my best in the last week to try to do it."

Verdasco's victory means that Czech Radek Stepanek and Croatia's Marin Cilic can no longer qualify for the season finale, but Cilic will have the chance to exact swift revenge on Verdasco if he comes through his second-round match against Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot.

Davydenko, meanwhile, will next face either ninth seed Soderling of Sweden or Croatia's Ivo Karlovic.

"It's a good feeling," said Davydenko. "With everyone here, (Roger) Federer and (Novak) Djokovic, it's a very tough draw and it's not so easy for Tsonga or Soderling or Verdasco to reach the final and win the tournament."

Chile's Gonzalez begins his campaign against big-serving American John Isner on Wednesday, when top seeds Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray will all be in action.

World number one Federer faces Frenchman Julien Benneteau, a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victor over Germany's Philipp Petzschner, while Nadal will take on his Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who defeated Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-2, 6-4.

French qualifier David Guez, the world number 179, will meet countryman Gael Monfils after shocking world number 21 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in their first-round encounter.

Federer and Nadal form part of a star-studded draw in the 2.75 million-euro final Masters tournament of the year, with injured American Andy Roddick the only absentee from the world top 15.

David Nalbadian to Retire by 30

Quoted from the David Nalbadian Website:

30/10/2009
Two more Years enjoying David’s Game
“King” David has set a date: he says he thinks of withdrawing from competition after his 30th birthday. There are still two more years to go since he will be 28 next January 1st. His idea is to go on playing a couple of years more and try to achieve his greatest dream: the Davis Cup. "In this stage, I will see how I am year after year. And it depends a lot on how my hip is, if I feel well and competitive", he said. The player from Córdoba said: “If I start feeling limitations, I will have to reconsider the situation”: Nalbandian, who was operated on the hip some time ago, will make his comeback to the ATP circuit next January, in the Auckland ATP.