London: Tomas Berdych will make his fourth straight appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after becoming the latest player to qualify for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 4-11 November. Following the first round results at the Swiss Indoors Basel, the Czech is guaranteed his spot among the Top 8.
The 28-year-old Berdych joins Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer and Juan Martin del Potro in the elite eight-man field. Home favourite Andy Murray also qualified, but was forced to withdraw from the tournament after undergoing back surgery. Berdych reached the semi-finals at the season finale in 2011 (l. to Tsonga).
“For me, it’s always one of my goals at the beginning of each season and it’s an honour to qualify,” said Berdych. “It’s just great to be a part of it. It really is the celebration of tennis, only for the Top 8 guys. It’s a huge show which I suppose tennis should be, and for us tennis players I would say it’s the best tournament.”
Berdych is one of four players this season to register 50 match wins on the ATP World Tour. The Czech is a three-time runner-up this season, reaching the finals at the Open 13 in Marseille (l. to Tsonga), the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (l. to Djokovic) and the Thailand Open in Bangkok (l. to Raonic). He also reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, falling to Djokovic both times.
“Tomas has one of the most powerful and exciting games in the sport and has firmly established himself among the world’s Top 8 players on the ATP World Tour,” said Tournament Director, Andre Silva. “We’re delighted to be able to welcome him back to The O2 for a fourth consecutive year.”
Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez will return to The O2 to defend their doubles title and will be joined in the eight-team field by first-time qualifiers Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo.
Granollers and Lopez won the title on their debut appearance last year, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the final. This season, the Spaniards reached the Western & Southern Open final in Cincinnati and were semi-finalists at the Australian Open. Croatian Dodig and Melo of Brazil won their first team title at the Shanghai Rolex Masters and reached the Wimbledon final.
Three singles and three doubles team berths remain up for grabs with two crucial weeks remaining in the Emirates ATP Race to London. Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet currently find themselves in the final three positions, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic close behind.
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has welcomed more than a million fans to The O2 arena over the past four years, establishing itself as the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. Tickets to the tournament, which takes place from 4-11 November, can be purchased at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.