The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is a body which caters to male professional tennis players all around the world. It organizes tennis tournaments throughout the year so that players have a chance to keep up their form during the time period between the four tennis Grand Slams, which are the biggest tournaments in the world of tennis. The ATP was established in 1972 and since then it has been successful in upholding tennis events all around the world known as the ATP Tour. In January 2009, the ATP Tour was renamed as the ATP World Tour.
The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open are the four Grand Slams and are the most exciting events in the tennis calendar. The tournaments held in the ATP Tour are also desperately awaited by tennis fanatics because it gives them a chance to see their favourite players in action on court. What more does a tennis fan want?
Out of all the ATP world tournaments, the Barclays ATP World Tour Final is the most thrilling. It is the last tennis tournament of the year, and the best part about it is that only those players who make it to the top eight in the world by the end of the year are qualified to participate in it.
Moreover, the pattern followed at the ATP World Tour Finals is unlike that of the rest of the tennis tournaments, which are mostly simple knock-out tournaments. The top eight players who qualify are divided into two groups of four players each. The players in each group play three round-robin matches against the other three group members. These round-robin matches decide which two players are worthy of going to the semi-final round and the winner in each semi-final advances to the final, where two players battle for the championship title.
The lucky champion of this tournament is awarded up to 1500 ranking points and receives prize money as high as $5 million. Any professional player would ecstatic to be showered with such gifts.
Currently, the tournament is scheduled to take place in London, England, every year, from 2009 to 2012. The main sponsor of this event is Barclays which is the second largest bank in Britain. They make sure that the Tour Final is comfortable for the players as well as the fans. The only player to have confirmed his spot in this grand event is the Spaniard, Rafael Nadal who is ranked world number one at the moment. The other participants are yet to be determined and the upcoming US Open will play a major role in this decision as it will be affecting player rankings.
The importance of this tournament is further enhanced by the fact that some of the best players in the world of tennis have considered it to be an honour to be taking part in this competition. The world number one, Nadal declared in 2009 that it was one of his goals to have made it to the ATP World Tour Finals. In 2008, the Argentinean player, Juan Martin Del Potro said that it is a dream come true for every tennis player to be a part of this prestigious event. David Ferrer, a Spanish tennis player, qualified for this tournament in 2007 and admitted that it was really a dream come true for him to have made it to one of the top tennis competitions.
The participants of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals make up the tennis elite; hence air surrounding this tournament is much more competitive than in many other tournaments and it is one of the most anticipated events on the tennis calendar.
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