Del Potro keen to grasp opportunity

Juan Martin del Potro (9/1 to win the end-of-season event with bet365) wants to end 2012 in style after he was handed a spot for the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The Argentine boosted his chances of reaching the eight-man showpiece by winning his third title of the season at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last week.

However, he was saved an anxious wait when Rafael Nadal (9/2 to win 2013 Australian Open with bet365) confirmed his long-standing knee problem would prevent him from competing at the O2 Arena in December.

The 2009 US Open champion admitted it was a bittersweet moment when he heard the news on Thursday.

“I’m sad for Rafa, he’s really trying in his comeback. But it’s not easy after such a long time away. I had the same feeling with my wrist,” the South American said.

“We miss Rafa a lot on the tour. He is one of the best players in history, he will come back strong.”

Del Potro joins Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych in the season finale, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Janko Tipsarevic, Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Almagro competing for the remaining two positions.

The 24-year-old is confident he can make an impact at the star-studded event.

“It’s only eight players fighting for one tournament. It’s the best eight players of the year, so it’s very important to me,” Del Potro added.

“I’m so glad to be there once again. I will be fighting against the big names and maybe I’ll have a chance to make another final.”

Murray to let tennis do the talking

Andy Murray has refused to be drawn into a war of words with Roger Federer as the duo prepare for the ATP World Finals event in London (Murray 11/4 outright winner with Bet365).

Federer, who is 9/5 favourite for the tournament at the 02 Arena, suggested that Murray’s Asian victories in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai earlier this autumn meant little due to the absence of both himself and World number one Novak Djokovic.

“I’m not taking anything away from what Andy did, but was Asia the strongest this year?” said the 30-year-old.

“I’m not sure. Novak [Djokovic] wasn’t there, I wasn’t there and [in Shanghai] Rafa lost early.”

When asked to respond to Federer’s comments Murray was initially non-committal, instead insisting he wanted to answer back on the court.

“I always try if I can to be as positive about all the other players,” Murray said.

“For me, I have always said that Roger is obviously one of the best players ever to play and I love having the chance to compete against him. There is nothing else for me to say on that.”

He did, however, take a minor swipe at the Swiss, adding: “Look at Paris. Rafa wasn’t there, Novak was injured and I was injured.

“Every week is different. It depends on whether you can play your best tennis.

“If you can play your best tennis and not everybody is there, well, it is not really relevant. You can only beat what is in front of you. It is a bit of a cliche, but that is the reality.”

The pair have been drawn in different groups for the tournament, that begins on Sunday, meaning they can only meet in the knock-out stages, with a clash in the final a 3/1 shot with bet365.

Tsonga not scared of Federer

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga insists he won’t be intimated when he comes up against Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals and feels the Paris Masters final will have no bearing on this clash.

Federer goes into the event as the man in form, after winning back-to-back tournaments with success over Tsonga in the French capital last week. Those who bet on tennis should remember this.

The Swiss ace is the defending champion heading into the O2 event and has a 6-3 head-to-head record against the Frenchman – with six of those meetings coming this year.

But Tsonga will be buoyed by his recent displays against the world number four, defeating him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals – one of two wins over Federer in 2011. The ATP tour betting odds still make him an underdog though.

The 26-year-old is the type of unpredictable character that can prove a dangerous opponent and he is upbeat mood heading to London – with his clash with Federer the first of this year’s event.

Tsonga told the ATP Tour website: “There’s only three players winning Grand Slams right now, but I am never intimidated when I walk out on court. The only person who intimidates me is my mother, when she is angry with me.”

The Frenchman admits it is “really important” he starts the tournament well as he feels he can achieve “big things” when playing with “a lot of confidence”.

This is Tsonga’s second appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals, the first came in Shanghai in 2008 when he won one and lost two of his round-robin matches.

Federer predicts open contest

Roger Federer admits he is dreaming of a sixth ATP World Tour Finals success but believes that any one of the top four seeds could walk off with the trophy (Federer 9/5 Tournament Outright with bet365).

The Swiss ace goes into the event at London’s O2 Arena as one of the in-form players, following back-to-back victories in Basel and Paris, and will play Rafael Nadal, Mardy Fish and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his Group B matches (Federer 1/6, Tsonga 4/1 – Match Prices with bet365).

The ‘big four’ have dominated the sport this year, with world number one Novak Djokovic winning three Grand Slams and Nadal claiming his sixth French Open title.

Federer has had a below-par year by his own very high standards but the 16-time Grand Slam winner has remained competitive throughout 2011 before re-entering the winner’s enclosure over the past few weeks.

The players will earn a much-needed break following the London show-piece but Federer insists that there is still a lot to play for to end the season on a high.

“I’d love to win a sixth title here,” he said. “I’ve had so many successful ends to the year. This is another one after winning Basel and Paris.”

And when asked about who he felt might win the event, Federer played his cards close to his chest, suggesting that, while the top four are favourites, there is enough talent on show for a possible shock.

“This year will be very interesting because I feel the one to four guys are the favourites, and then from five to eight they have the potential to upset the top guys and go all the way to the final,” he added.

“They have big games, they can beat anyone on any given day and they are good enough to win this too. “

Murray faces Djokovic test

Novak Djokovic has been drawn in the same group as Andy Murray for the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals, while Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet in the other section.

The draw for the end-of-season finale has been completed, with the top two from round-robin group stages going through to the last four at the O2 Arena.

Group A certainly looks the toughest, with world number one Djokovic set to come up against world number three Murray, as well as the fifth-ranked player David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Those looking at the online tennis betting will know how hard things look to be.

Djokovic has the edge over the British number one in previous meetings, leading the head-to-head stats 6-4, although Murray claimed their last meeting in Cincinnati, when the Serbian was forced to retire.

The Wimbledon champion also has the same winning record against Spaniard Ferrer, while Djokovic has lost one of his eight meetings with world number seven Berdych. Anyone following the ATP Tour Finals betting should bear this in mind.

Group B meanwhile, with see Paris Masters winner Federer paired with French Open champion Nadal, as well as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and world number eight Mardy Fish.

Federer will look to retain the title he won in London last year and will go in search of a third consecutive ATP title, following wins in Basel and Paris – when he beat Tsonga in the final.

The Swiss defeated Nadal in the O2 showpiece final in 2010, but the world number two has the advantage in the head-to-head record – with 17 wins to Federer’s eight.
Sunday’s first match on Sunday will see Federer up against Tsonga once again, before Nadal faces Fish in the evening session.

Federer can’t pick Tour Finals winner

Roger Federer believes all eight competitors at the ATP World Tour Finals are capable of winning the end-of-season event (Federer 2/1 favourite with bet365).

The 30-year-old comes into the competition, known as the ‘fifth major’, as the form player on tour having won back-to-back titles in Paris and Basel recently.

World number one Novak Djokovic (7/2 ATP Tour Finals outright) and Rafael Nadal (9/2) have both been struggling with injuries that curtailed their participation at the Paris Masters, with both player fighting to be fit in time for London.

Andy Murray (5/2) had been on fire before his quarter-final defeat to Tomas Berdych in the French capital last week, winning 17 straight matches and three tournaments in the process.

With Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, David Ferrer, Berdych and Mardy Fish completing the line-up defending champion Federer believes it is impossible to pick a winner before the event begins.

The Swiss said: “I think (with) these groups we’re going to see have potential for everybody to win the tournament.

“It’s not like in maybe other years where there was one or two such clear favourites, and after that it would have been a huge surprise.

“I think this year it’s much more even, and that makes then the groups nicely balanced, so I’m looking forward to that.”

The draw for World Tour Finals takes place on Tuesday afternoon, with the competition kicking off at the O2 Arena on Sunday.

Murray avoids tougher finals group

The draw has been made for the ATP World Tour Finals and home favourite Andy Murray (4/1 to win tournament with bet365) has managed to avoid the trickier group of the two.

Murray recently dropped to fifth in the world rankings after Robin Soderling overtook him with his win at the Paris Masters last week.

As a result, the Scot could have found himself facing world number three Novak Djokovic together with either one of Rafael Nadal (11/4 to win tournament with bet365) or Roger Federer.

As it is, Murray will face Federer, Soderling and Spaniard David Ferrer in Group B, while Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick have been paired together in Group A.

Murray (7/4 to win Group B with bet365) boasts a good record against Swiss star Federer and won two of his three meeting with him this year, though the one loss did come in the most high-profile match at the Australian Open final.

His records are not so great against either Soderling (2 win each) or Ferrer (3 wins to 1 in favour of the Spaniard), but Murray will be hoping to get straight into top gear when he opens the O2 tournament against the Swede net Sunday afternoon.

Only way is up for Soderling

Robin Soderling insists he has his sights set even higher after rising to fourth place in the men’s tennis world rankings (Soderling 7/1 – ATP World Tour Finals Outright with stanjames.com).

The Swede has overtaken Andy Murray after winning in Paris on Sunday – his first Masters title.

And now Soderling has Rafael Nadal (10/3 – ATP World Tour Finals Outright with stanjames.com), Roger Federer (5/2f) and Novak Djokovic (4/1) in his sights.

The 26-year-old insisted ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals in London: “I’m going in the right direction.

“Now my aim is to be number three. This fills me with confidence for London.

“You have to play all the best players and each match is potentially a Grand Slam final, so you need enormous confidence.

“This could be one of the keys.”

The ATP World Tour Finals takes place at the O2 in London between November 21-28.

Roddick gunning for World Tour points

Andy Roddick singled his intent to qualify for the World Tour Finals (Roddick (20/1 in Stan James Outright Betting) in London at the end of the month, with a routine straight-sets win over Jarkko Nieminen at the Paris Masters to book his place in the third round.

The American ace (12/1 Outright Betting Paris Masters with Stan James) dominated on serve, dropping just nine points, as he proved too strong for the Finnish qualifier to go through 6-1 6-4 and set up a meeting with Ernests Gulbis in the third round.

Roddick is chasing one of the three places still available at the O2 Arena as he bids to qualify for the eighth-succesive year, adding 90 points to his tally with the win.

“Every match I win is significant at this point,” said the 28-year-old “It puts more pressure on the guys behind me. I have a pretty good shot no matter how I do here this week.

“But I think the last thing you want to do is be in that position where you’re at home cheering against somebody hoping that something bad happens to them. You’d like to win it, do it on your own terms, and that’s something that I’d certainly like to do.”

British number one Andy Murray (9/2 in Stan James outright betting) was made to work but managed to battle past Argentina’s David Nalbandian 2-6 6-4 6-3, while Novak Djokovic (7/2) was too good for Juan Monaco, winning 6-4 6-3.