No Roger Federer. No Rafael Nadal. No problem?
Well, the absences of Federer and Nadal are certainly a problem for the 2016 World Tour Finals, just as they would be for any tournament, but the upcoming week in London features a different duo to whet the appetite of the tennis world. The year-end No. 1 ranking will all come down this event, as Andy Murray leads Novak Djokovic by just 405 points in the race. With 275 points soon to come off the board from the 2015 Davis Cup final, Murray’s advantage is effectively a mere 130 points. In other words, whichever player–Murray or Djokovic–fares better in London will be the year-end No. 1.
The top-ranked Scot has won an incredible seven of his last nine tournaments, a stretch that includes Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics, and last week’s Paris Masters. Djokovic, meanwhile, has slumped drastically since triumphing at the French Open for the first time in his career. The Serb won the Toronto Masters, but he lost to Stan Wawrinka in the U.S. Open final, to Roberto Bautista Agut in the Shanghai semis, and to Marin Cilic in the Paris quarters.
One Twitter user suggested that the World Tour Finals groups be called Group Game of Thrones and Group Walking Dead. And why not? Murray is the undisputed king of tennis right now and he is joined in Group A by Wawrinka (the U.S. Open champion), Kei Nishikori (a U.S. Open semifinalist), and Cilic (the Cincinnati champion, the Basel champion, and a Paris semifinalist). Djokovic has been struggling both physically and mentally since Roland Garros and he finds himself in Group B along with Milos Raonic (suffered a quadriceps injury in Paris), Gael Monfils (withdrew from Paris with a rib injury), and Dominic Thiem (9-10 in his last 19 matches dating back to Wimbledon, including two retirements).
First alternate David Goffin should like his chances of stepping into Group B, and even second alternate Roberto Bautista Agut has a decent chance of playing.
Round-robin predictions:
Group B
Djokovic over Thiem in 2
Monfils over Raonic in 3
Djokovic over Monfils in 3
Thiem over Raonic in 3
Djokovic over Raonic in 2
Monfils over Thiem in 2
Group A
Murray over Cilic in 3
Nishikori over Wawrinka in 3
Murray over Nishikori in 2
Cilic over Wawrinka in 3
Murray over Wawrinka in 2
Cilic over Nishikori in 2
Semifinals: Murray over Monfils and Djokovic over Cilic
Final: Murray over Djokovic
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who ya got?
Group B:
Djokovic over Thiem in 3
Monfils over Raonic in 2
Djokovic over Monfils in 3
Thiem over Raonic in 3
Djokovic over Raonic in 2
Monfils over Thiem in 2
Group A:
Murray over Cilic in 3
Wawrinka over Nishikori in 2
Murray over Nishikori in 3
Wawrinka over Cilic in 3
Wawrinka over Murray in 3
Cilic over Nishikori in 3
SF:
Monfils over Wawrinka in 3
Murray over Djokovic in 3
Final:
Murray over Monfils in 3
Group A
Djokovic 3-0
Monfils 2-1
Raonic 1-2
Thiem 0-3
Group B
Murray 2-1
Cilic 2-1
Wawrinka 2-1
Nishikori 0-3
SF
Cilic over Djokovic in 3
Murray over Monfils in 2
F
Murray over Cilic in 3
Oh I see that I switched the letters of the groups. Doesn’t matter though.
I’m glad Rafa is not playing, he would have been playing Djoker in the first rubber, not a position we are used to seeing Rafa.
Wronguh,
nadline10 (AT 12:40 PM),
Rafa could have been in Murray’s group.
The Round Robin draw:
1) The field shall be divided into two (2) groups of four (4) players each. The topseeded player shall be placed in Group “A” and the second-seeded player shall be placed in Group “B”. Players seeded three (3) and four (4), five (5) and six(6), and seven (7) and eight (8), shall then be drawn in pairs with the first drawn placed into Group “A.”
🙂
Yes, I know. But playing Murray or Djoker in the 1st rubber is not something I want to see.
I predict half of Ricky’s predictions will be wrong.
#FlipsCoin
#TooManyUnknownns
#HerbertWillWin
Congrats to Me!