The 2012 ATP World Tour Finals are scheduled to start on Monday in London with Group A action kicking things off. Singles matches that are scheduled will feature Andy Murray against Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Novak Djokovic. Group B matches will open on Tuesday with Roger Federer against Janko Tipsarevic and David Ferrer against Juan Martin del Potro. Despite poor performances at the recently completed Paris Masters, Djokovic and Murray remain the favorites to win the 2012 ATP World Tour Finals.
Djokovic has won the event one time in his career as he took down the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2008. Murray has yet to make the final at the season ending event but following a championship at the US Open, the Scot has more than his share of backers in hard court events. The fact that the World Tour Finals will be played in London also make Murray the local favorite, pressure he played well under at both Wimbledon and the Olympics earlier this year.
Federer is into the event as the player who has experienced the most historical success in the tournament. The World No. 2 has won the event six times, including the two most recent events. There are a couple questions with Federer right now following a surprise loss at ATP Basel to Juan Martin del Potro. Federer had dominated both Basel and the post-wrist injury del Potro over the years and so the loss to the Argentine in the 500 series event had to have an effect on the opinions of tennis fans, especially since Federer missed the Paris Masters.
Del Potro himself enters the event as the fourth favorite following recent titles at ATP Vienna and Basel. The Argentine made the finals in the 2009 event and he is back in the tournament for the first time since that year. He did not play well in Paris, falling early to Michael Llodra however the Argentine was likely quite tired in the event following back-to-back title runs.
Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga and Tipsarevic are the other four players in the event. Ferrer is fresh off of a maiden Masters Series 1000 title while Tsonga will be looking to at least duplicate his efforts from last season that saw him make the final.
The year ending event is missing Rafael Nadal as the World No. 4 remains sidelined with his knee problems. There is a chance that he could drop down in the rankings however that would likely require a strong showing from Ferrer. In all cases, Djokovic, the World No. 1 as of Monday November 5th, will be the top ranked player at year's end even if Federer claims a 7th title.
Groups and Seeds
Singles - Group A
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
[3] Andy Murray (GBR)
[5] Tomas Berdych (CZE)
[7] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
Singles - Group B
[2] Roger Federer (SUI)
[4] David Ferrer (ESP)
[6] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
[8] Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)