Race to London Update: Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Andy Roddick fill the remaining spots
With only ten days left, the list is finally complete. As tennis superstars battle it out in Paris for the BNP Paribas Masters title, Thursday’s results dealt a deciding stroke on the race-to-London for all those involved.
Those who had already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London were the Spanish phenomenon Rafael Nadal, Swiss Maestro Roger Federer, Serbian marvel Novak Djokovic, top Brit Andy Murray and Swede professional
Robin Soderling. Soderling was the most recent to qualify for the finals in London after his quarterfinal run in the 2010 If Stockholm Open. Ever since Soderling’s qualification, the remaining three spots became the most sought after. With six contenders and
only three spots, intense competition at the courts was witnessed by fans all over the world.
Those left in the running were Czech Tomas Berdych, Spaniards David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco, American Andy Roddick, Russian Mikhail Youzhny and Austrian Jurgen Melzer. With Youzhny pulling out of Paris due to a back injury,
his chances of qualifying for London came crashing down with his exit.
Though Verdasco and Melzer were hoping for a London qualification, giving it their 100% on the courts in Paris, Thursday’s result put a stop to their dreams. As the morning session ended, the final three qualifications were decided.
They were Ferrer, Roddick and Berdych. This trio was decided after French Gael Monfils defeated Verdasco 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-5 in their third round match in Paris.
Earlier in the day, Roddick defeated Ernests Gulbis to stay in the title run and end all hopes for Melzer to qualify for both the singles and doubles this year. Melzer qualifies for the doubles in London with partner German Philipp
Petzschner.
Although Melzer defeated Ferrer in their third round match in Paris for a spot in the quarterfinals, he still could not pass Roddick who ranks eighth in the year-to-date ATP rankings. Roddick currently has 3,665 points whereas
Melzer can end the week with a maximum of 3,605 points. This is Roddick’s eighth straight qualification since 2003.
Even though Ferrer lost, he is happy to have qualified for London this year. This is the Spaniard’s first qualification in three years, having last played in London in 2007. Talking to press after his match in Paris, Ferrer had
this to say, "Yes, I lost, but I'm really glad, because it's very nice [to] come back to London. I [have] played a lot of matches, but this year I play less tournaments [than] the last two, three years. [It] is very nice come back to [the] Top 10. Now I want
to relax two or three days, and I will prepare one week for London."
Wimbledon finalist, Berdych will make his first career appearance in London. Although Berdych holds no title to his name this season, he was the finalist at two major ATP events this year. He jumped into the top eight in the YTD
ATP rankings after his final run in Wimbledon.
As these eight giants prepare for London, tennis fans all over can expect nothing short of exhilarating, unadulterated tennis action at the O2 Arena in ten days.
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