ATP World Tour Finals to be held at O2 Arena in London until 2015 – Tennis News
Association of Tennis Professionals Tour Finals event will be held at O2 Arena in London until 2015. The two-year extension in the contract was agreed on the eve of Wednesday when the men’s tennis governing body placed confidence
in the officials of London and signed an extension. The famous indoor hard courts of the iconic O2 Arena will feature the Top-8 players from the male category for three more editions at least.
It is good news for the tennis fanatics in London but a probable bad announcement for those bodies who wanted to host such a prestigious tournament at their home soil. The bank of River Thames has staged the year-end tournament
for the past four years and had an initial contract of five years that is extended further to 2015 now.
Association of Tennis Professionals Chief Executive, Brad Drewett said in a press conference, “We are very happy to announce the extension of our original commitment in London for a further two years, meaning the Barclays ATP World
Tour Finals will be played in London for at least the next three years through 2015. We are very proud of our marquee event, the ultimate showcase of men’s tennis.” All top athletes are in Paris for the BNP Paribas Masters tournament prior to the start of
the season-end finale and that made the decision even easier according to the governing bodies.
The event was first held at London in 2009 and will go on for three more years that will also be the last few years of the former world number one, Roger Federer, as the professional tennis icon. He will probably retire after the
next Olympics that are scheduled to be held in 2016. Hence, it seems like the invincible Swiss Maestro will sustain his dominance in the World Tour Finals until his retirement. It is probably a bad news for someone like the reigning world number one, Novak
Djokovic, and the Seven-time French Open Champion, Rafael Nadal, who would have liked to see the venue being shifted to lower the odds of Federer reigning supreme over everyone.
World number three, Andy Murray, lost to his arch rival from Serbia, Novak Djokovic, on the eve of Wednesday despite getting a set lead first up. He was ecstatic to hear the news of contract extension and stated in a post-match
press conference, “As far as the players’ schedule, it’s incredibly convenient and it’s worked very well I think the last few years. They get very good crowds. It’s a fun arena to play in. Because of the way the schedule is, you can’t really have it anywhere
else. I think it works well just now.” Everyone loves playing at their home and favourite surface, why would Murray and Federer not like the contract.
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