World Tour Finals draw announced
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has been drawn to face Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick in his round-robin group at the World Tour Finals.
That leaves world No. 2 Roger Federer in Group B with the remaining three players of the eight-player draw – Robin Soderling, Andy Murray and David Ferrer.
Nadal, the first player to qualify for the World Tour Finals, will be seeking to win his first title at the season-ending championships, but enters the tournament having missed last week’s BNP Paribas Masters due to shoulder tendinitis.
However, with the out-of-form Berdych (an opponent who Nadal easily accounted for in the Wimbledon final), a rather more in-form Djokovic (who was no match for the Spaniard in the US Open final) and Roddick alongside him in Group A, the left-hander should be well placed to make a push towards a maiden final berth at the tournament.
For Federer, 2010 represents the chance to claim a fifth title at the tournament, having been crowned champion in 2003 and 2004 and again in 2006 and 2007. Murray, who away from the Grand Slams seems to enjoy playing the 16-time Grand Slam champion, could pose problems for Federer in this group, but Soderling (who has won just one of 15 past matches against Federer) and Ferrer (who is 0-10 in past matches) should pose few problems in the round-robin stages.
Aside from Federer, the only other past champion in the London draw is world No. 3 Djokovic, who won the title in 2008 when he defeated Nikolay Davydenko in the final, but as defending champion last year failed to progress beyond the round-robin stage.
Davydenko went on to improve on that result at last year’s tournament, winning the biggest title of his career when he prevailed over Juan Martin del Potro in the final, but a lean season means the Russian won’t be back to defend his title in 2010.
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