Here are the key numbers behind a historic 2016 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals…

Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram might have discovered the key to playing their best under pressure this week during their run to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals doubles title match: Don’t realise you’re under pressure.

During their semi-final match in London, Klaasen/Ram led 6-1, 5-4 against Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the No. 1 duo in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. But Klaasen thought the score was only 4-3 in the second set. So he freely put away volleys as if the match wasn’t on the line, delivering a backhand put-away to win the first point and a forehand overhead to go up 30/0.

“They made a few returns in the game, and I made some very good plays on them. But in my head, it didn’t feel like, I have to make these,” Klaasen told ATPWorldTour.com.

Ram, who was serving, was fully aware of the score, but he still ended the match with a service winner that sent the seventh seeds into the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title match. Klaasen/Ram fell to fifth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 on Sunday.

But reaching the season finale was quite the run for Klaasen/Ram, who were making their London debut. Neither of them seriously thought about becoming a pro tennis player when they were kids. In fact, both players didn’t even get serious about the sport until they were in their mid-teens.

Ram played tennis a lot, hitting with his dad for about an hour almost every day while growing up in California, Wisconsin and Indiana in the U.S. But his dad had no formal tennis experience and was a casual recreational player.

“Tennis was a glorified hobby for me until I was about 15,” Ram said.

As a result, he learned all he could while watching his childhood tennis idols. He marveled at Boris Becker’s athleticism. He shook his head at Ivan Lendl’s powerful groundstrokes off the ground.

But Ram’s countryman Pete Sampras ultimately became his favourite tennis hero. The 6’1” Sampras, with his legendary serve-and-volley game, was a natural model for Ram, who stands at 6’4”.

“Sampras was my guy,” he said.

You can see Sampras’ service motion in Ram’s game. Just like “Pistol Pete”, Ram points his left foot up while rocking back and tilts the racquet and ball towards him before hurling forward to make contact. His serve might not dominate like Sampras’ did, but it’s been more than effective this season with Klaasen. During their first full year together, they won two ATP World Tour Titles – Chengdu and Halle – and finished at No. 6 in the year-end Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

Klaasen, of South Africa, also spent his childhood years playing with his parents, especially his mom. “She says she was playing with me when other people didn’t want to play with me,” Klaasen said.

He began playing in junior tournaments when he was about 13, and he joined his first serious tennis environment when he was 16 at the ITF training centre in Johannesburg.

“I think the common thing for both of us was that tennis was always a source of enjoyment,” Ram said. “We both still enjoy the game a lot.”

The two also worry less about winning every match and focus more on getting better. Win or lose, Ram said, “We try to learn from it and just get better the next time we get to go out on the court.”

Their attitudes have helped them endure the ups and downs of an ATP World Tour season. In February, about eight months after they started playing together, Klaasen/Ram lost four consecutive first-round matches, going 0-8 for sets in Quito, Delray Beach, Acapulco and Indian Wells.

A lot of guys might have ended the partnership then, Ram said. But they stayed together, and at the next tournament, the Miami Open presented by Itau, Klaasen/Ram snapped their losing streak by edging Murray/Soares 10-7 in the Match Tie-break. Klaasen/Ram would go on to make the Miami final, their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title match (l. to Herbert/Mahut).

“We have a pretty good understanding of that it’s not that end of the world if we win or lose a match,” Ram said.

Their playing styles, along with their outlooks, also match up well on the court. “They have the power of Ram and then the speed and the agility and the touch of Klaasen,” said Swede Robert Lindstedt, who’s played against the pairing three times. “It’s a great one-two punch. It’s very tough to break Rajeev to start with but then with the lightning that Raven is, it’s even tougher. It’s almost impossible.”

Opponents learned that throughout the year, and especially in London, where Klaasen/Ram enjoyed one of their best weeks as a team.

“This is probably the highest form of enjoyment for us. Hitting the ball [in practice] is still fun but actually performing when it matters is more fun for us,” Klaasen said. “And to be honest, if you can’t enjoy tennis in [The O2], then you probably should be doing something else, because it’s pretty spectacular to play tennis like this.”

Rafael Nadal is the first player to confirm his participation in the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. The Majorcan tennis player has accepted the invitation of the tournament and will be the main attraction of the 65^th edition of this great world event of tennis on clay, which will be played in 2017 from 22-30 April at the Real Club Tennis Barcelona-1899.

For Nadal this will be his 13^th participation at the tournament, where he will play for his 10^th title. He would become the first player to win any tournament 10 times.

“I will play again at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, a very important tournament for everyone on the world tennis calendar,” Nadal said. “As always, playing in Spain, at home, is an extra motivation for me for many reasons, but mainly because of the support of the public, which is closer. In addition, the tournament is played at my tennis club, and in Barcelona, ​​which makes everything more special.”

Albert Costa, director of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, is also very pleased with Nadal’s confirmation. Costa does not hide that this is great news for all tennis fans.

“The possibility of watching Nadal play in Barcelona is reduced to one week a year, and it is normal that the expectation is triggered as he is one of the most extraordinary players who appear only once in a while in the world of sport. I am convinced that Rafa will return to play at the highest level and that we will have yet again a super tournament,” Costa said.

Nadal is currently No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. In 2016, during which several physical problems prevented him from performing as he had hoped, Nadal won the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. The Barcelona final against Japanese Kei Nishikori was one of the best finals played at an ATP World Tour 500 event.

During Nadal’s 12 appearances in the City of Barcelona, he has compiled a 49-3 record. He fell to Alex Corretja during his debut year, 2003; Nicolas Almagro, in 2014; and Fabio Fognini in 2015.

Tickets for the tournament are now available electronically. Click here to purchase them at the tournament’s website.