Race to London Update: Wesley Moodie and d**k Norman clinch the final spot
The elites are finally all set to battle it out for the championship at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. With only a week left to the London final, the last team secured a spot in the eight-team field following the semi-finals
results at Bercy.
Wimbledon and Roland Garros semi-finalists Wesley Moodie and d**k Norman secured the final spot for the London finals after the recently qualified team of Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi ousted Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak
in the semi-final match at the BNP Paribas Masters at Bercy, Paris. Moodie and Norman make their debut team appearance at the London finals this year.
Although they were forced to exit the tournament at Bercy in the quarterfinals, they still had hopes to make the cut should the team of Cermak and Mertinak fail to clinch the title at Bercy. Currently ranked at seventh position
in the year-to-date ATP rankings, Wesley and Norman are the third this week to make the list of elite teams for the London finals. Earlier in the week, Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski along with Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi had qualified for the
sixth and seventh spot in the London finals respectively. As fate would have it, their qualification had come after the top-seeded Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, had forced the exit of none other than Moodie and Norman at Bercy. As they say no good deed goes
without return, Bhupathi and Mirnyi returned the favour as they forced the exit of Cermak and Mertinak. Cermak and Mertinak, the only other contenders in the race alongside Moodie and Norman, needed a title win for the London qualification.
Also making their debut appearance this year are Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner. The pair was guaranteed a spot in the London finals after their doubles title win in Wimbledon, should they finish the season in the Top 20.
Leading the eight-team field at London will be the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike. Holding eleven titles this season, the pair looks to end the season on the highest note yet. With a 19-8 record at the event, the brothers are making
their eighth appearance in London this year.
2010 Roland Garros winners Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic will also be joining the mentioned teams in London this year followed by the team of Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes. Having made their debut last year, Lukasz Kubot and
Oliver Marach will also be playing in London this year. With two titles on the ATP World Tour this season, the rising pair can be expected to give some serious competition to the top seeds at the event.
With such top teams playing in London this year, fans can expect nothing but the best, most exciting tennis action in the year’s end championships.
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