Never has the race to the World Tour Finals been in less doubt for a longer stretch of time, and the eight-man field is now set with one more regular-season tournament (the BNP Paribas Masters) still to play.
The last player with an outside shot was Richard Gasquet, who had to win titles in both Basel and Paris in order to have a chance. His semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal last week ended what little suspense remained.
With Nadal’s win over the Frenchmen, Kei Nishikori and David Ferrer officially secured the last two spots in London.
“I am very excited to go back to London,” Nishikori assured. “Being part of the best eight players in the world is a big honor and something I work very hard for every day. This tournament is one of the flagship tournaments of the year for us and I look forward to coming back.”
“It’s an honor to be back in London and be amongst the best players in the world once again,” said Ferrer, who will be making his seventh appearance at the prestigious year-end championship after playing one match in 2014 as an alternate. “It’s been a great season for me and I really look forward to the tournament.”
Nishikori and Ferrer will be joined by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal, and Tomas Berdych. Murray announced on Monday that he is going to play, having previously threatened to skip the World Tour Finals in order to practice on clay for the Davis Cup final.
Murray will lead Great Britain into Belgium to compete for the title the week following London.
The World Tour Finals field features six of the same participants–not including Ferrer–from last year. Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic failed to qualify in 2015, replaced by Spaniards Ferrer and Nadal.
Leave a Reply