Barclays gets in on the tennis World Tour action

The financial institution has won a five-year sponsorship deal which guarantees the event will happen at London's O2

London : The year-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals can only get better, if one is to consider the fantastic response to this event from all concerned, according to one of the top officials connected with its organisation.

"The upside for this tournament is huge. The players love it, the spectators have had a terrific time so far and everyone has been really excited about it," John Beddington of Beddington Spots Management Limited told Gulf News.

With more than 40 years experience in the field, Beddington is the tennis consultant for title sponsors Barclays.

Barclays recently pulled off a coup — rumoured to be around $30 million (Dh110.2 million) over five years — which guarantees that the company will host the competition at the O2 Arena in London.

It is also the first time that the ATP is acting as World Tour Finals promoter.

"This sponsorship is a major commitment to the sport from Barclays, and to think that this year is only the start... it can only get better," Beddington said.

Public response to this week-long tournament has been huge with every ticket sold out way ahead of time. "I've run some of the top tennis events in the world and for sure I know that this event has been more successful than anyone could have anticipated ahead of time," Beddington stated.

Attendance figures since the start on Sunday have been high and authorities are expecting this competition to be the most watched by the end of the week.