Thiem Eyes London Bid As Race Intensifies In Basel & Vienna

A pair of ATP World Tour 500 events in Basel and Vienna comprise the penultimate week of the regular season, with players battling for critical points in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

Three berths remain up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, as Dominic Thiem, Tomas Berdych, David Goffin and Marin Cilic are within 1,035 points of Gael Monfils for the sixth position. Bidding to make his debut at The O2 in London, Monfils is off next week, but could qualify based on the results of the other contenders.

Thiem is looking to bolster his chances of joining Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori with a strong performance at his hometown Erste Bank Open 500. The third-seeded Austrian will turn to the home fans to spur him to victory, with defending champion David Ferrer also in his quarter of the draw and 2014 winner Murray looming in the semis. He opens against countryman Gerald Melzer.

Following Rafael Nadal’s announcement that he would conclude his 2016 season due to a wrist injury, Berdych has moved into the coveted final qualification spot with 2,880 points. Also competing in Vienna, the second-seeded Czech is less than a month removed from claiming his first title of the year at the Shenzhen Open. He faces a tricky path, with #NextGen star Karen Khachanov a potential second round opponent and Roberto Bautista Agut and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who both own faint hopes in the Emirates ATP Race To London, also in his half of the draw.

A semi-final showing on home soil at the inaugural European Open has Goffin hot on Berdych’s tail. Like Monfils and Thiem, the Belgian is in pursuit of a first appearance at the season finale. He enters the Swiss Indoors Basel in strong form, having advanced to the semi-finals or further in three of his past five events on the ATP World Tour, in addition to a quarter-final at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Runner-up in 2014 to Roger Federer, Goffin has a challenging path this year with five current and former Top 10 players in his half of the draw. He opens his Basel bid against Marcos Baghdatis and could face Juan Martin del Potro in a blockbuster second round, with London contenders Nishikori and Raonic also looming.

Cilic, meanwhile, is seeded fourth in his fourth trip to Basel. A mere 100 points behind Goffin and 290 back of Berdych, he is poised to mount a serious charge up the Emirates ATP Race To London standings next week. The Croatian opens against Mikhail Youzhny, with Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Pablo Carreno Busta beckoning in the second round. Stockholm finalist Jack Sock and top seed Stan Wawrinka are also present in his half of the draw.

Three Doubles Spots Up For Grabs In Basel
The five teams in the sixth to 10th positions in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London are all competing at the Swiss Indoors Basel. No. 6 Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram are seeded third, with No. 7 Henri Kontinen and John Peers and No. 8 Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi also in the draw.

Currently in the ninth spot are defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. The Dutch-Romanian duo are the top seeds in Basel and find themselves 385 points behind Huey/Mirnyi for the final spot. The Colombian Power of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah round out to the Top 10 and are unseeded in the Swiss city. 

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – The Contenders
Based on the calendar-year Emirates ATP Race To London standings as of Saturday, 22 October 2016. The top eight eligible players will qualify. Players in bold have already qualified.

*Nadal has concluded his 2016 season due to a wrist injury

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has established itself as the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. Tickets to the tournament, which takes place from 13-20 November, can be purchased at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.