London: It has been a truly remarkable year on the ATP World Tour, but despite all the incredible storylines generated throughout the season, the best is still yet to come this month as the elite eight players head for the Nitto ATP Finals in London and the best 21-and-under players in the game already squaring off this week at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
The 2017 season has already produced breakthrough performances for up-and-coming players like Alexander Zverev, stirring comebacks for several players led by superstar Rafael Nadal and vintage play from the seemingly ageless Roger Federer.
For Nadal, the season has been one of courage, determination and brilliant play as he fought back from a serious wrist injury to climb from ninth place on the Emirates ATP Rankings at the start of the year to season-ending No. 1 as he heads into the Nitto ATP Finals.
It is the fourth time Nadal has finished as the year-end top player and at 31 he becomes the oldest player in history to achieve that prestigious position. His first year-end No. 1 ranking came nine years ago in 2008 and this year’s result shows not only what an outstanding player he is but also highlights his longevity in the game where he has won 75 titles including 16 Grand Slams, and a record 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.
Nadal will compete for the Brad Drewett trophy at The O2 against a star-studded field that includes six-time former champion Federer, Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem along with outstanding debutants Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin and Jack Sock, the first American to qualify since Mardy Fish in 2011. For the second consecutive year the season finale will feature players from eight different countries.
But before the elite eight take the stage in London the young elite players take the spotlight in Milan this week in the first Next Gen ATP Finals, an exciting event that not only features the best 21-and-under players on Tour, but also debuts some exciting innovations.
The eight who qualified for this unique event are Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Denis Shapovalov, Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson, Hyeon Chung, Daniil Mevedev and Italian wild card entry Gianluigi Quinzi. These guys are the future of our sport, so we urge you to tune in now to catch a glimpse of what is being showcased at the Fiera Milano stadium.
The tournament features numerous innovations to enhance the fan experience and bring more drama and excitement to the game. The most notable innovation will be the first to 4 games sets with a tie break at 3-all. The aim of this format is to produce more pivotal moments and allows for a best of five set match within a reasonable time span.
A shorter warm up of just 5 minutes after walk on will keep the action flowing and a no let rule will speed up play during games while adding an element of unpredictability. Players will be allowed just one medical time out per match and coaches are able to communicate with players via headsets at the end of sets.
Fans will enjoy the new format as well because they will be allowed freedom of movement around the stadium during play.
The Milan event has already attracted a lot of fan interest as well as very strong sponsor support. Amazon Prime video is showing three documentaries profiling the event and the players as well as streaming all matches. We are delighted that this innovative tournament has been able to welcome such a well-renowned household name as Amazon into the sport of tennis for the first time. They will provide a fantastic digital platform for our inaugural event.
As a sport, we need to look at how we attract the next generation of fans. Consumer habits in sport and entertainment are changing at such a quick pace. Men’s professional tennis is currently in a very strong place, however we need to plan for the future and that’s what this event is all about.
With the season climax already getting underway, a quick look back at the most recent lead up tournaments to the two Finals is in order.
Nadal won an incredible 16th career Grand Slam of the year at the US Open in New York and Goffin, Denis Istomin, Peter Gojowczyk and Damir Dzumhur joined him with victories in September.
The 25-year-old Dzumhur became one of the hottest late season performers winning twice in his five starts with success at the two events in Russia, the St. Petersburg Open in September and the UTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October. His wins should have come as no surprise because his ATP Match Fact statistics, part of our Infosys ATP Scores & Stats Centre, show him as the best on Tour this year at converting break point opportunities with a stunning success rate of 47.8 per cent.
Special mentions for other late season winners including Federer at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, along with Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, Lucas Pouille and of course Sock who secured his place in the Nitto ATP Finals with his first Masters 1000 win at the Rolex Paris Masters.
With an amazing season now behind us, the best of the best will now battle it out for season-ending honours in both London and Milan. What a great way to finish the year!
— Chris Kermode is Executive Chairman and President of ATP and writes a special column for Gulf News
