Take a look around The O2 this week and you’d be hard-pressed to find a player more exuberant and wide-eyed than Grigor Dimitrov.

Can you blame him?

After 10 seasons competing as a pro and pursuing his dreams on the ATP World Tour, Dimitrov has compiled his best campaign in 2017. The 26-year-old was rewarded with his first trip to the Nitto ATP Finals in London. In a season filled with new experiences, he admits he is relishing his debut appearance at the season finale.

“I can’t hide my smile,” Dimitrov told the assembled media ahead of the tournament. “I’m pretty pleased to be out here. For sure it’s a dream come true for me. In the past I’ve missed qualifying by one spot. It’s always been a goal of mine to come out here and perform. The arena is pretty special and they take such good care of you here. It’s a great reward. I’m so happy and super humbled.”

It’s the philosophy that every successful player on the ATP World Tour attributes to achieving their goals: hard work and dedication pay off. With the addition of Dani Vallverdu as coach, Dimitrov discovered a change in mentality and discipline both on and off the court. Up to a career-high No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, this personal growth and maturation has seen the Bulgarian soar in his quest to realise his full potential.

A dominant January and February, which saw Dimitrov post a 16-1 record en route to the Australian Open semi-finals and ATP World Tour 250 crowns in Brisbane and Sofia, was just the start. He would claim his biggest title in August at the Western & Southern Open, lifting his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. The triumph in Cincinnati would see him return to the Top 10 for the first time in more than two years, and he would proceed to reach his 13th ATP World Tour final last month in Stockholm (l. to Del Potro).

It’s this enhanced focus and determination that Dimitrov credits for his success, as he looks forward to London and beyond.

“My overall performance the whole year has been pretty good. I have been more consistent, which is the key for me. Also, winning Cincinnati propelled me to do even better and I was fighting throughout every tournament I played. I had good discipline the whole year and ultimately I reached this goal. But I didn’t change anything major. Not too much.

“It’s mid-November and I’m already excited for next year and looking forward to the work during the offseason. It’s a good sign… With the right attitude, the good work ethic, just staying healthy, being as close as possible to your team and following your goals, everything can only get better. One of my most important goals is be better than I was yesterday whenever I get out on the court. Age doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.

Paired with top seed Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and fellow debutant David Goffin in Group Pete Sampras, Dimitrov will look to build on a 44-19 record in 2017.

He opens against Thiem in Monday’s day session, in what will be their third FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter of the year. Dimitrov kicked off the season with a three-set victory over the Austrian in Brisbane, but Thiem reciprocated with a win in a deciding tie-break at the Mutua Madrid Open in May.

“I’ve played a few times against Dominic. He’s one of the best players. To be here, you’ve obviously done something right. I’m looking forward to the match. It’s cool to be here at the end of the year and play your last matches against the top players. I already had my first hit on the court and I think it’s going to be a great match.”

From innovations to the #NextGenATP stars putting on a show all week in Milan, the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals has been a resounding success. But the tournament is not over quite yet, and a lot is at stake on Saturday.

Only one man can walk away with the ATP World Tour title — for Hyeon Chung, it would be his first, and Andrey Rublev, his second (Umag).

It will be the second time the pair meets this week alone. On Wednesday, Chung won 4-0, 4-1, 4-3(1) in the second match in Group A play. The 21-year-old South Korean comes into the final with a 4-0 record in the event after beating Daniil Medvedev in a five-set classic in the semi-finals, while the 20-year-old Russian is 3-1, suffering his only loss against Chung.

Overall this is their third FedEx ATP Head2Head battle. Chung won 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open in August prior to the US Open, where Rublev reached the quarter-finals.

Chung is appearing in his first ATP World Tour final and is trying to become the first player from South Korea to win a tour-level singles title since Hyung-Taik Lee captured the 2003 Sydney title (d. Ferrero). He has won his last two matches in five sets (d. Quinzi, Medvedev) after dropping only one set in his first two Group A matches. Chung has a 28-18 match record on the season and his 28 wins is the most in the field. 

The right-hander has dominated on return of serve this week, breaking opponents a tournament-high 16 times (16 of 45 games). He also leads in break points saved (77%, 27 of 35). If Chung wins, he will take home $390,000 as an undefeated champion.

“I have to focus on the match,” Chung said. “After winning the match I can think about prize money and [the] trophy, [if] I get my first trophy in the ATP. So I have to finish the match first and nothing else.”

Rublev, who is the top seed in the tournament, needed only 62 minutes to beat Borna Coric in the semi-finals. Rublev has been broken 11 times in 42 service games this week (26%), but he saved the only break point faced on Friday. The Russian lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy in Umag in July (d. Lorenzi) as a lucky loser.

He beat third-seeded Denis Shapovalov 4-1, 3-4(8), 4-3(2), 0-4, 4-3(3) on Thursday in his final Group A match to earn a spot in the semi-finals. Rublev has a 21-17 match record on the season and he reached a career-high No. 35 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 9 October. He is No. 37 this week, and can claim $335,000 if he earns the trophy.

“This was my best tennis in the whole week. I’m really happy, and I hope tomorrow I can show even better game,” Rublev said after beating Coric. “I’ll try, like always I will try to play my game to try to dictate, because the first match here, I wasn’t playing that aggressive. I didn’t play that good. I was missing a lot. So I hope tomorrow I can show a better game.”

In the third-place match, Medvedev and Coric square off for the second time this week. On Wednesday, Coric won 4-3(5), 2-4, 4-1, 4-2 in their second Group B match. Medvedev was a finalist in Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut) in the opening week of the year, while Coric won his first ATP World Tour title in Marrakech in April.

Fear does not come into the equation for Rafael Nadal. Having arrived in London for the Nitto ATP Finals, the Spaniard admitted he would not even allow a resurgent Roger Federer, nipping at his heels for a return to No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, to play on his mind in the latter part of 2017.

Having achieved so much already, reassuming top spot was a bonus, an unexpected reward for a season that has bagged titles in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Roland Garros, Flushing Meadows and Beijing. The Spaniard begins his season-ending campaign with one less pressure hanging over his head.

Federer can nip at his heels all he wants. The year-end Emirates ATP No. 1 Ranking belongs to Nadal, regardless of results in London.

“I was not afraid at all,” Nadal said of Federer’s pursuit of the top spot. “It’s something that I was clear in my mind. I will not do a different calendar to try to be No.1 again. I did what I thought was best for my happiness, my tennis career and for my results. 

“It’s a very important achievement, especially for my age – No.1 in the world at the end of the season is a great achievement for me at 31.5 years old. For sure, it was never on my mind to be in that position again, but here, I made it happen, my team helped me to where I am today.”

Few big titles have eluded the Spaniard over his decorated career. Of his 75 titles, however, none have included the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. 

“Yes it’s a goal in my mind, I’ve qualified 13 years,” Nadal said. “Of course being here is an important thing but for me, it is what happens during the year – competing in tournaments, almost every week with a very competitive level of tennis, and being healthy (that matter).”

Seventh seed David Goffin is his first round-robin assignment on Monday night. The pair has squared off twice, both times on the slower clay, both this year – at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid and ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo – where Nadal prevailed each time in straight sets. 

“After what happened to him at Roland Garros (an ankle injury), it would be really unfair if he was not here,” Nadal said. “I’m very happy to see him recovered and playing well. Hopefully he won’t play that well on Monday but he’s 100 per cent here and he deserves to be.”

Nadal would have to progress beyond the group stage of the Nitto ATP Finals to have another shot at playing Federer. While he leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 23-15, the Swiss has claimed all four of their encounters in 2017. Any talk of revenge in London, though, is quickly downplayed.

“No I don’t need to beat Roger for good confidence,” Nadal said. “I’ve won enough to be confident. If I play him here it would be great to finish the year playing him again to give me another chance. 

“We cannot forget that we played all the times (in 2017) on surfaces that he likes more than me. I just accept that and find different ways to approach the match and if that happens (in London), I’m healthy enough so I hope I have my chances.”

Jack Sock might be the only non-European at the Nitto ATP Finals this year, but he certainly isn’t out of place. 

Having earned his place at the prestigious year-end event in London on the back of a surprising title run at the Rolex Paris Masters, Sock is flying the American flag amidst a field of Europeans. Although they might not share the same continent, they’ll share the same court over the next week of exciting matchups at The O2 arena in Britain’s capital.

Not since 2011 has an American qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, when Mardy Fish capped off a sensational season with three tight matches at the round robin stage, and Sock’s victory in Paris, which halted a run of 69-straight ATP Masters 1000 titles won by Europeans, might just signal a continental changing of the guard in tennis.

“[Europe is] producing some amazing players year after year, but I think we have a great group of young guys coming up,” said Sock. “We’ve got a good group of us now that are holding steady at the top and a good wave coming through behind, so hopefully for the years to come there will be some change to that. 

“Obviously, being patriotic, I wish some of my friends were here, the other American guys, but [I’m] definitely excited for the week and ready to get things going on Sunday.”

Sock would be the first to admit that it hasn’t been the consistent year he had anticipated. Following an electric start to the season that saw him claim two titles and deep runs at the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, the 25-year-old’s results dipped disappointingly, particularly at events on home soil. 

But did he ever imagine himself qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals?

“Through April, yeah, I envisioned being here – from June through November, maybe not,” said Sock, assessing his season. It was a good start to the year, kind of a rougher middle part and beginning to the fall and then obviously an amazing week to cap off what I thought was going to be my last week of the season.”

Although his odds were a long shot going into the Rolex Paris Masters, where he was ranked a far-off 24^th in the Emirates ATP Race to London, Sock seized control of an open draw to defeat surprise finalist Filip Krajinovic, instantly qualifying him for the season-ending event.

“Going into Paris I was honestly hoping to play some matches and was getting ready to regroup mentally and get ready for my off-season at home. I genuinely had no idea mathematically that I could make London after the five, six-month stretch I had there in the middle to the end of the season,” said the American.

“It wasn’t until after the match I played Lucas Pouille in Paris that someone in the media mentioned ‘if you happen to win this week you can still make London,’” he added. “I kind of laughed it off and then was just focusing on one match at a time. Obviously the closer it got and the farther I got in the draw then it became more of a reality and was definitely a motivation there at the end of the week.

Sock’s Nitto ATP Finals campaign sees him in Group Boris Becker alongside Marin Cilic, Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer, who earlier in the season noted Sock’s penchant for playing on the biggest stages – and when the two face off against each other on Sunday, it will be put to the test.

“That’s a fair assessment by Roger, I do enjoy playing in front of a lot of people,” said Sock. “I think I have a fairly entertaining game … so I’m definitely looking forward to showcasing it and getting out there this weekend and into next week.”