Analysis of the ATP Race Rankings
The tennis season has been an enthralling one, with two new Grand Slam Champions crowned, a return to form for all-time great Roger Federer and the closest battle in recent memory for places at the ATP World Tour Finals, there has been no shortage of talking points in 2014.
The drama has by no means finished just yet. The three way battle to end the year as World Number 1 goes down to the wire, as does the hunt for places in the Top 8. Add in the expectation of Djokovic going on paternity leave and Nadal’s inflamed appendix and you have an end to the season that is anything but quiet.
It’s that time of year when every tennis fan is dusting of their abacus or hunting down their calculator in an attempt to make sense of the numbers and analyse the permutations that could unfold heading into the last three weeks of the year.
The ATP Race is the first area to look at, as the points totals represent solely what each player has earned in 2014. It is the top 8 players in the Race that gain a place at the prestigious World Tour Finals in London on November 9th. With points being defended from 2013 not relevant in the Race, the players chasing those elusive Finals spots know exactly what they need to do.
At the end of the World Tour Finals the Race turns into the year-end ATP Rankings and so the men at the top of the standings will also be calculating what they need to do to finish the year as high as possible.
It is all set for a mouth-watering finish to the 2014 season, with no player secure of their current year end ranking. Similarly there are still three spots available at the World Tour Finals, with six men still in with a shout. Click through the slideshow to see who is playing where this week, which players have already qualified and all the other permutations heading into the European hard-court swing that brings the season to a close.