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2014 ATP World Tour Finals: Preview and draw (Part II)

Roar Guru
9th November, 2014
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Roger Federer is around 85 years old, and still going strong. (Image: AP)
Roar Guru
9th November, 2014
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In Part I, I previewed Group A for the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals, which consisted of Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic.

Here, I will preview Group B.

Group B
Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic

Roger Federer (2)
Thirteenth appearance
Best result: Won (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)
Titles won in 2014: Dubai, Halle, Cincinnati, Shanghai, Basel

Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Semi-finals
French Open: Fourth round
Wimbledon: Runner-up
US Open: Semi-finals

Head-to-head
2-2 versus Nishikori
11-11 versus Murray
5-1 versus Raonic
18-14 combined total

Kei Nishikori (4)
First appearance
Best result: N/A
Titles won in 2014: Memphis, Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo

Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Fourth round
French Open: First round
Wimbledon: Fourth round
US Open: Runner-up

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Head-to-head
2-2 versus Federer
0-3 versus Murray
4-1 versus Raonic
6-6 combined total

Andy Murray (5)
Sixth appearance
Best result: Semi-finals (2008, 2010, 2012)
Titles won in 2014: Shenzhen, Vienna, Valencia

Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Quarter-finals
French Open: Semi-finals
Wimbledon: Quarter-finals
US Open: Quarter-finals

Head-to-head
11-11 versus Federer
3-0 versus Nishikori
1-3 versus Raonic
15-14 combined total

Milos Raonic (7)
First appearance
Best result: N/A
Title won in 2014: Washington

Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Third round
French Open: Quarter-finals
Wimbledon: Semi-finals
US Open: Fourth round

Head-to-head
1-5 versus Federer
3-1 versus Murray
1-4 versus Nishikori
5-10 combined total

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Preview
After dropping to a 12-year low of eighth in the world following the Australian Open, many believed that Roger Federer’s best was behind him. However, he has been able to prove the doubters wrong, returning to number two in the world after a phenomenal season which has seen him win five titles.

Among the five titles were a record sixth Dubai title, as well as a seventh title in Halle, Masters titles at Cincinnati and Shanghai, and his hometown event, Basel.

He fell in the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the fourth year running, going down in straight sets to career nemesis Rafael Nadal for the 23rd time in 33 career meetings. He also fell in the fourth round of the French Open and was beaten in the semi-finals of the US Open by eventual champion Marin Cilic.

However, he was still able to reach the final at Wimbledon, where his bid for an eighth title at the All England Club and 18th Grand Slam title overall was halted by Novak Djokovic in the final.

The run to the Wimbledon final proved that he still has what it takes to win the major titles, but the reality is that Federer has not saluted on the major stage since winning Wimbledon in 2012.

Nishikori made history at the US Open in September when he became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final. After upsetting world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, nerves took over as he was easily defeated in straight sets by Croatia’s Cilic.

Among his other significant results include winning titles in Memphis, Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, while he also reached the final at the Madrid Masters, only to retire midway through the final set against Rafael Nadal due to injury.

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Other than his run to the final at Flushing Meadows, he fell short of reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while he fell in the first round at the French Open.

Andy Murray suffered a disappointing 2014 season, dropping out of the world’s top ten after losing to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the US Open. His best Grand Slam result this year came at his worst tournament, reaching the semi-finals of the French Open and being heavily beaten by Nadal.

His form has lifted of late, capturing titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia. He saved five championship points to defeat Tommy Robredo in Shenzhen and Valencia, on either side of defeating David Ferrer in Vienna.

Finally Raonic, the last player in the field, who this year reached a career-high ranking of number six and reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time, doing so at the French Open and losing to Djokovic.

He also reached the last four at Wimbledon, where he lost to eventual runner-up Roger Federer, but didn’t have any success at the hard-court Grand Slams, losing to Grigor Dimitrov and Nishikori in the third and fourth rounds of the Australian and US Opens, respectively.

He could also capture just one title during the year in Washington, and was runner-up to Nishikori and Djokovic in Tokyo and Paris, respectively. Raonic is one of three men making their debuts at the season-finale in London.

That’s Group B previewed. Now, an explanation of how the tournament works.

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*Note that Nishikori has beaten Murray in the first game.

Rules
The eight players have been split into two groups as already mentioned: Groups A and B. The tournament employs a round-robin format, where players within each group play each other once.

The top-two players from each group at the end of six matches then progress to the semi-finals, with the winners of each group playing the runners-up from the reverse groups, respectively.

If results go as expected, Djokovic and Federer could meet in the final.

Can the Serb make it a hat-trick at the final event of the season, or will someone else reign supreme? It’s set to be a thriller of a season finale, however it may unfold.

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