Tennis – ATP World Tour Finals London 2014 Preview

10th November 2014

The 2014 ATP World Tour Finals are almost upon us, and tennis fans are set for a week of superb action at London’s O2 Arena.  World number one Novak Djokovic arrives looking to secure the prestigious trophy for the third straight year, and the bookies make him favourite to do just that, with the Serb on offer at a best price of 10/11 with Boylesports.

A positive performance for Djokovic in London will see him hold off Roger Federer and retain the world number one position heading into next season.  His victory over Federer in the Wimbledon final this past summer could well give Djokovic an edge should the two men meet in the latter stages of the ATP World Tour Finals.  Novak Djokovic looked as good as ever when winning the BNP Paribas Masters last week, and comes into this event as a very obvious and worthy favourite.

While I would not want to write off Federer here, he was beaten in Paris by Milos Raonic, and to me, looked a little tired.  It could be that the Swiss will be able to pick himself up for this all-important tournament, but I’m not sure that the general quotes of 3/1 about this multiple Grand Slam winner represent value at these World Tour Finals.

While Andy Murray has had a mixed season as far as results are concerned, his form coming into the Tour Finals could not be much better.  Having looked very unlikely to even make the O2 following defeat at the hands of Novak Djokovic in the US Open quarter finals, Murray took the decision to play in the six tournaments that followed which meant competing in 23 matches in a 37 day period.

That fierce schedule paid off, and Murray won three tournaments in succession to climb back to sixth in the world rankings, and secure his place at the 2014 World Tour Finals in the process. With Rafael Nadal out injured, the odds compilers make Andy Murray their third favourite to win in London, behind Djokovic and Federer.  Murray can be backed at a stand out price of 7/1 with Boylesports.

Kei Nishikori will begin in Tour Finals debut against Andy Murray, with the Japanese player looking to create waves in Group B and qualify for the latter stages at the expense of Roger Federer or indeed Murray himself.  Nishikori has been a revelation in Men’s tennis this year, with the 24 year old having reached the final of the US Open and climbing to a high of number five in the world.

Former French Open champion Michael Chang joined Kei Nishikori’s camp this year and his arrival definitely seems to have had a positive effect on Kei’s results.  He seems to take the pressure of being involved at the very highest level in his stride and could well cause problems for Novak Djokovic and co at this ATP World Tour Finals.

Although the bookies clearly make the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals a three horse race, one player who appears to be coming into his own in recent times is Canadian Milos Raonic.  The youngest competitor in the field, Raonic beat both Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer on his way to last week’s Paris Masters final, and those two successes will have given the 23 year old plenty of confidence coming into London.

The fact he has beaten Federer so recently might well give Milos the edge when it comes to their Group B clash, and it would be no surprise to me if he were to make it past the group stage.  Milos Raonic is on offer at best odds of 25/1 with Paddy Power, and that is certainly a value bet in my book.

Recommended Bets

Back Novak Djokovic at 10/11 with Boylesports

Back Milos Raonic each way at 25/1 with Paddy Power