The World Tour Finals draw ceremony was held on Thursday evening in London and it put Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the same group of four along with Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori. In the other quartet, Andy Murray is joined by Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal, and David Ferrer.
Group Stan Smith
1) Novak Djokovic
3) Roger Federer
6) Tomas Berdych
8) Kei Nishikori
Group Ilie Nastase
2) Andy Murray
4) Stan Wawrinka
5) Rafael Nadal
7) David Ferrer
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who ya got?
The Group Stan Smith will play on Sunday.
Rafa will play his first match (against Wawrinka) on Monday after 8:00 pm.
OOP for Monday:
http://www.protennislive.com/posting/2015/605/op.pdf
ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2015
CENTRE start 12:00 noon
[4] J. Murray (GBR) / J. Peers (AUS) vs [5] S. Bolelli (ITA) / F. Fognini (ITA)
Not Before 2:00 pm
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [8] K. Nishikori (JPN)
Starting at 6:00 pm
[1] B. Bryan (USA) / M. Bryan (USA) vs [8] R. Bopanna (IND) / F. Mergea (ROU)
Not Before 8:00 pm
[3] R. Federer (SUI) vs [6] T. Berdych (CZE)
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015
CENTRE start 12:00 noon
[2] J. Rojer (NED) / H. Tecau (ROU) vs [7] M. Matkowski (POL) / N. Zimonjic (SRB)
Not Before 2:00 pm
[2] A. Murray (GBR) vs [7] D. Ferrer (ESP)
Starting at 6:00 pm
[3] I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA) vs [6] P. Herbert (FRA) / N. Mahut (FRA)
Not Before 8:00 pm
[4] S. Wawrinka (SUI) vs [5] R. Nadal (ESP)
what a bummer…I won’t even be able to watch Rafa’s first match…why doesn’t he play on Sunday… 🙁
I thought that I would bring over this post from VB forum member nou.amic –
I’m very pleased Rafa didn’t finish up in Djokovic and Federer’s group.. and I bet Uncle Toni’s chuffed Rafa’s in the group named after his fave player, Ilie Nastase!
Rafa’s H2H with his group:
Murray: 15-6
Wawrinka: 13-3
Ferrer: 23-6
Total: 51-15
I liked that she posted Rafa’s H2H record against the others in his group!
I repeat what I posted in the “World Tour Finals seedings” thread at 9:00 pm.
.
Speaking of the Group names, U.Toni is probably happy that Rafa is in the Ilie Nastase Group. I.Nastase became Toni’s idol after he saw Nastase playing in Barcelona in 1972 and Toni started to play tennis because of that. 🙂
Just bought my tickets for Nadal-Wawrinka on Monday evening! WOOOHOOOO! 😀
see you there VR
ahh ! GREAT to know. I also sent you an email !
Rafa is 4-3 career indoors against his Team Don’t You.
Rafa is 5-8 career indoors against the other Team Do You.
(Berdych is in Team Do You.)
#Thiem
And Rafa’s indoor record against Federer skewers the h2h ratio.
Yes it’s worth reminding people who readily write Rafa off. I’ve always said Rafa vs Novak has ALWAYS been a toss up even when Rafa was dominating their h2h before 2011. Recently Novak has made up for lost time but also, Rafa’s injury time out should be factored in. I wouldn’t write Rafa off against Novak as some seem to do. It’s 50/50 IMO.
I also remember when Rafa came back in 2009 with his parents’ at loggerheads etc. he lost a bunch of matches against Nole.
Can’t wait to watch all the action on tv….Go Fed!!!!!
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Djokovic – NID
Rafa – Dark Horse (if he does not have to go through Djoko)
If Rafa wins his first match against Stan that would give hima huge momentum for the other 2 matches in his group. He should beat Stan, providing he doesn’t have a meltdown like he did in Paris.
As for Djoker being NID, not sure about that. Djoker is not a lock against a resurgent Rafa, he certainly isn’t against Federer. If Nishikori is fit, he is not a walkover.
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa has to top his group to avoid meeting Djoko in semis unless Fed beats Djoko and tops his group, then would prefer Rfa to be 2nd. It is easier for Rafa to beat Fed than Djoko on indoors too.
Do you guys know how they decide on the order of play and the matches played on Tuesday? Is there any chance Federer is playing Djokovic in the evening match on Tuesday or will it be a (probably boring) Djokovic-Berdych? 🙁
Depends on the outcome of the first round.
it will be Fed vs. Djoker. The two winners of the first match play each other second, and Djoker and Fed are likely to win their first match. Obviously if it’s Djoker-Fed, they will put it at night.
Ricky has nailed his colours to the mast.
Roger didn’t look too pleased to be in the Smith group.
it’s not bad for Fed. It’s bad for the 2 people in the ground not named Fed or Djoker.
Thank you Rick. You made my day. Watching Fed vs Djok could potentially be (very) entertaining.
now you just need Fed to not lose to Berdych
Well, there’s reason to guess Fed could have trouble winning his first match. But to Berdych? Fed may have issues with Berd, but Berdych doesn’t have the best record at tour finals, does he? This is his 6th time there and he’s been to a semi once. Or, did I miss something?
Voted for Nadal in 3. Wawrinka/Nadal
I want to see Rafa play his first match and see where he’s at before I get excited. I think he’s up for it and ready; he knows he’s better than #5 in the rankings and wants to rectify that asap.
Vamos Rafa!
I believe that I voted for Rafa in 3 over Stan. I think getting that first win against Stan would be great for Rafa. I always want to see how Rafa looks in his first match before I think about making any predictions.
I also think Rafa’s done well to come up from #8 to #5, right outside the top four. Of course, as far as I am concerned Rafa is still part of the top four!
Rafa’s been playing well and if he can continue that way, then he can get a good result here!
NNY: You are right, Rafa is one of the Big Four and always will be.
Earlier this year I was beside myself with rage when Robbie Koenig stated more than once that in his opinion Rafa should no longer be included in the Big Four. I don’t recall him consigning Federer to the ‘and the rest’ category during his 2013 slump even though he came perilously close to not qualifying for the WTF and won even fewer titles than Rafa has in his worst year. C’est la vie.
The term.refers to their combined dominance – not just their ranking which in any case is the corollary of hogging the Slams and Masters titles for the past decade. They are today’s equivalent of the Four French Musketeers who reigned the world of tennis during the late 1920s/early 30s.