Tennis is a sport you can never fully master. As a player, and now as a coach to Andy Murray, I have never stopped learning. At the highest level, you’ll fail as a player if you’re not striving to better yourself, and I now try to approach coaching in the same way.

When I was playing, I was always looking for an edge, whether from nutrition, fitness or psychological strength, and I now use everything I can to give Andy an advantage. That includes keeping track of new trends in tennis and also what athletes are doing in other sports. Whether I’m playing or coaching, I’ve always wanted to do my best.

I’ll be courtside at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals next week to support Andy. In the company of more than 30 fellow competitors from the 1980s – who have been invited as special guests – I’ll also be taking the opportunity to recall my memories of the Masters, as the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals was known then. One of the proudest achievements of my career was winning five titles from nine straight finals at the Masters from 1980-88. Those appearances all came during the tournament’s 13-year residency at Madison Square Garden in New York from 1977-1989, when tennis came alive in the electric atmosphere inside that arena. I’m sure the players from the 1980s will also be reflecting on the growth of men’s tennis in the past 30 years, since we were competing for this title.

A tournament’s long-term success can be attributed to having a home at a good site, which enables it to become an ‘identity event’. Now in its eighth year on the Greenwich peninsula, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has improved on the traditions of Madison Square Garden and enjoyed unprecedented growth, attracting around 260,000 fans to the season finale each November.

In the first seven years of this tournament, which was established in Tokyo in 1970, the venue rotated between cities and continents to demonstrate the worldwide impact of the sport. But in 1977 the ATP was convinced that for the Masters to be a prestige event it needed to be held in the United States. The decision to switch the year-end championships to Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City, from December to an even colder, more wintery week in January, was made because it had been up against American football. It was controversial because the year-end title would be contested at the start of a new season [up to 1986, when it reverted back to a December date], but the timing was great: wedged, as it was, between the NFL conference play-offs and the Super Bowl. The move guaranteed network TV broadcasts, ticket sales and an avid American audience.

Early matches, such as Guillermo Vilas’ round-robin win over Jimmy Connors in 1977, watched by 16,000 beyond 1am, or John McEnroe’s generational clash against Arthur Ashe in the 1978 final, ensured that if you happened to have been wandering past outside you would have thought that the New York Knicks or Rangers had won another championship, such was the thunder from the rafters. The Masters regularly had ratings of more than double the US Open finals, at the time. Madison Square Garden inspired players, such as Bjorn Borg, Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis, McEnroe and Vilas, that tennis in the ‘biggest deal’ arena in the world was worth tailoring their autumn schedules and fighting to play for. The Garden – conjuring mystique, ambience and aura – had finally given the Masters an identity.

My induction came, aged 20, in January 1981, six months after I had bought a house in Greenwich, Connecticut. I had never slept well in the city, as it was too loud. But staying in the comfort of my own home, after gallivanting around the world the rest of the year, meant I could drive the 35 miles or so into the city each day. McEnroe, who’d visited the Garden every year since he was seven, travelled in from Douglaston, Queens. The other players, who stayed in the city, often seemed to endure a longer journey on to site.

Although I initially wasn’t so keen on indoor tennis, or the crowds and the atmosphere, I grew to like it. Contested at the start of a new season, the majority of players were refreshed and eager to play the Masters. The court at the Garden was put down on felt four or five days before the tournament began, and each player was able to practise on the fast court for an hour – 24 hours before first ball. I can still remember playing Borg in my first of nine straight finals, in January 1981, when I’d established myself as a consistent player; sitting and preparing in one of the 20 stalls where the New York Knicks and Rangers, or legendary boxers, had been; and the short walk from the locker room up to the court, which was lit surprisingly bright.

Playing in front of close to 19,000 spectators in New York City each winter, and some of the most influential people in various industries, made for an electric atmosphere. The enormous scoreboard hung over the court and reduced the maximum height that you could hit a lob. Cigarette smoke, at times, clouded the air. Fans were right on top of the court, cheering on their favourites, such as Connors, who had a terrific following at the Masters, or ‘Mr New York’, Gerulaitis, who was a massive personality. It was a daunting and intimidating arena with all its sporting history.

Players came alive in that arena. Competing at the Masters was a very big deal. Along with your titles and your ranking, it was another benchmark achievement. It was never easy and you could never be confident of getting the win. Even today, when I visit the Garden, I can see people’s eyes are wide open.

Controlled conditions suited my game. My first year-end title over Gerulaitis in January 1982, when I recovered from two sets to love and match point down, stands out in the memory. As does going against doctor’s orders to rest my shoulder in order to compete in 1988, when my fifth set tie-break loss to Becker in the final ended in a 37-stroke rally and a net cord winner. It’s difficult to compare my Masters record and reaching eight consecutive US Open finals (1982-89) as sometimes you can win a major and only beat one Top 10 player.

Inquisitive and competitive by nature, I studied everything I did, making detailed notes on players and matches in books, as improvement is something that takes time. I always knew you can’t make concrete adjustments immediately. It can take a pro six months to incorporate any changes into his game. I was studious, but not methodical. I was able to maintain focus and had enormous emotional drive. I hope I forced my rivals to think differently.

I was serious on the court, but I was a very different person in private off the court – always joking around and playing practical jokes. I always remember 20 years ago coming out of a lift in New York with my agent, Jerry Solomon, and a writer from the LA Times. Halfway through the interview, one of the questions was: ‘When did you get so funny?’ I told the journalist I always had been. Having spent years giving deadpan answers in press conferences, the media portrayed me as menacing and robotic on court, and therefore didn’t look for another side to me off the court.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is assured of its future at The O2, the world’s biggest entertainment arena, through to 2018. Everyone hopes and dreams of competing on the blue court, under the spotlights. Just as I, and dozens of my rivals, did all those years ago.

Ivan Lendl spoke to James Buddell.

Stefan Edberg will make a welcome return to The O2 in London next week as part of the ATP’s Finals Club, which this year celebrates Barclays ATP World Tour Finals competitors in the 1980s.

Having qualified for nine straight year-end championships in New York City and Frankfurt, between 1985 and 1994, the Swede continues to marvel at the growth of the prestigious event.

“This has become one of the best events to visit as a spectator,” Edberg told ATPWorldTour.com. “You don’t have to deal with rain, you’re guaranteed two great matches each day and everything runs well.

“It was mostly about the Grand Slams in my generation, but I think this championship and the [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 events have so much importance to them now, which is great. That’s how it should be.”

Edberg won the season finale title in 1989 (d. Becker), in the final edition of the event at Madison Square Garden, New York, and was runner-up the following year (l. to Agassi) at the Festhalle Frankfurt in Germany. 

“I remember it being such a big deal for me to qualify for the first time [in 1985],” said Edberg. “You have to deserve to be here and play so well throughout the whole season. It was great to play in Frankfurt because it was basically Boris Becker’s home ground and tennis was so big in Germany, but it was also very special to play at Madison Square Garden, in that type of environment and in a big city.

“It was really special to defeat Becker in the 1989 final because I had lost six or seven finals that year, so it was a real breakthrough. I was winning most of the finals in 1990, so it did hurt to lose to Andre Agassi in the championship, especially after beating him in a great match during the round robin group.”

More: Stan ‘The Big Match Man’ Eyes First London Title

Since retiring from the ATP World Tour in 1996, Edberg has had the chance to see the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals evolve, both as a spectator and former coach to Roger Federer from 2013-15. He’s eager to see how the battle plays out between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic for the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“What’s interesting is that over the past two years, it’s been all about Federer and Djokovic, but now it’s changed to Murray and Djokovic,” said Edberg.

“It was a little bit surprising that Andy reached No. 1 before the end of the year, but he’s had a great season and has been knocking on the door for quite some time. Djokovic isn’t going to go away, though, that’s for sure! He’s had such a long reign at the top (223 weeks in total) and has also had a great season. But it’s normal to see new people challenging him for that spot.”

Edberg and John McEnroe remain the only players in ATP World Tour history to ranked No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and top spot in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings.

This year, Group Edberg/Jarryd is named in honour of the classy Swede and Anders Jarryd, who won the year-end doubles championships in 1985 and 1986.

This year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals features plenty of regular faces making their annual appearance at the O2, but one of the most popular veterans in tennis is also making his deserved debut at the season finale, which begins at The O2 in London on 13 November.

Gael Monfils qualified for the first time after producing a career-best season in 2016. Having started the year at No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, the 30-year-old Frenchman now sits at No. 6, tying his career-high ranking.

Monfils largely attributes the remarkable run of form he’s had this year to his team.

“[Coach] Mikael [Tillstrom] helped me a lot, but my fitness coach gets a lot of credit as well. They’ve both done a great job,” said Monfils. “Mikael jumped on the team last year and we’ve changed a lot. I’ve changed my routine, the way I practise and recover. It’s been working well.”

The Frenchman won the biggest title of his career at the Citi Open in Washington (d. Karlovic), in addition to reaching his first Masters 1000 final since 2010 at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (l. Nadal). Monfils also finished runner-up at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (l. Klizan) and produced another big run at a Masters 1000 event with a semi-final showing at the Rogers Cup (l. Djokovic).

But Monfils is far from content with simply going deep in tournaments. Although he managed to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final in eight years at the US Open (l. Djokovic), he described the experience as bittersweet.

“I was happy, but very disappointed, to be honest,” admitted Monfils. “I had such high expectations for the last [Grand Slam]. But it definitely helped me to have more belief in myself and put in a lot of work to be even stronger.”

Watch: Monfils Beats Karlovic To Win Washington 2016

His view on one of the biggest results of his career is a testament to the improved temperament and more measured approach that Monfils has shown both on and off the court. Gone are the days when he would lose focus for long stretches of a match or not bring his best tennis to tournaments.  Monfils has long had the talent to place himself among the world’s elite players, but now has the mentality to go with it.

“People forget that we grow up,” said Monfils. “I turned 30 and we have a different view on life now. It’s just a general change in my mentality and living style. All of this helped me change my routine more easily with Mikael, because I was changing my way of living in other ways as well.”

Although Monfils was forced to pull out of last week’s BNP Paribas Masters with a rib injury, he has already been practising at The O2 and appears ready to make a big run in the last tournament of the season. He features in Group Ivan Lendl alongside Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem.

“The end of the season is always tough. Mentally, it’s been very demanding for myself,” said Monfils. “But I feel very confident because I’ve won a lot of matches. I feel my game is not very far from the top, so I’m in good spirits and with a lot of hope.”

Nicknames stick with Stan Wawrinka. He answers to the catchy “Stan The Man” and Roger Federer aptly coined him “Stanimal”, while watching Wawrinka roll through the 2014 Australian Open.

But perhaps the most accurate nickname for Wawrinka, who heads to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the fourth consecutive year, is a hybrid of his two popular monikers: “Stan The Big Match Man”.

Few players on the ATP World Tour have been more clutch than Wawrinka in big matches, and the World No. 3 will try to tap into that prowess at The O2 in London from 13-20 November, where he’s searching for his first championship at the season finale.

He will play only the best players in London, a perfect scenario for Wawrinka, who somehow brings his top level against the game’s greatest. Facing World No. 1s in finals, the Swiss is 3-0. He beat Rafael Nadal in Melbourne in 2014. Wawrinka thwarted Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam plans last season when he beat him at Roland Garros. In September, the 31 year old prevailed against Djokovic once more at the US Open.

“He just steps in. He loves to play in the big matches. He comes up with his best game,” Djokovic said after falling to Wawrinka in New York. “He’s so solid from both corners. He’s got a good slice and an amazing one-handed backhand, all corners. Big serve. Moves well. He’s a very complete player. Sometimes if he feels right he doesn’t miss much and makes a lot of winners, and it’s hard to play him.”

Belief propels Wawrinka in the big matches. “When I start to play well in the final at a tournament, I know that I can beat anybody,” he said in Shanghai.

Wawrinka also gathers momentum throughout a tournament. By the time he’s playing in a final, if everything has gone well, he’s nearing top form. But the Lausanne native has also done well at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, a tournament, with its round-robin format, that poses the best against the best on Day One.

On each of the three occasions Wawrinka has played in London he’s advanced to the semi-finals. But he hasn’t made the final yet, falling in the last four to Federer twice and Djokovic once.

Perhaps this is Wawrinka’s year? Federer will miss the year-end championships for the first time since 2001. Djokovic last won a title in July, but new World No. 1 Andy Murray, his Group John McEnroe rival, is in strong form.

Wawrinka has also been producing exceptional performances this season. He’s 4-1 in finals this year, with his only loss coming against #NextGen star Alexander Zverev at the St. Petersburg Open in September. During his past 12 finals, Wawrinka is 11-1, a run that dates back to June 2013 when he lost to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut on the grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

“I take confidence every time I win a match,” Wawrinka said in September. “Put the fight on the court and you will have a chance to win.”

Stan’s Finals Stretch

Just short of 100 aces for the week, including 28 in the final. You said after your semi-final yesterday that you weren’t thrilled with how you served. How did you feel you served today?

I served much better today than yesterday, for sure. [Ruben] was a tough returner. I hit a lot of aces, but part of it is that I played a lot more points on my serve. Even if I did hit my spot, he was taking cuts at the ball and was dangerous. He was a nightmare for me today.

You only had one look at break chances today as well.

I was one for five today, but all of those came in one game. If you look at his results, he hasn’t been broken by many people here. Yesterday was a different story, but it’s not like I’m the only guy not breaking him. I feel like I probably return better than a lot of the guys that he’s already beaten here.

He didn’t miss one ball and was all over me. He didn’t give me a chance to swing. I was running a lot. It was brutal.

What impressed me most was the composure you had. How did your nerves feel as you were getting down the stretch in the third set?

I talk a lot when I play, but in those moments I’m pretty calm. I know that if hit my spot, the ball won’t come back. And he’s thinking more than me.  I have to put myself in his shoes. That makes me feel even more calm.

Even with my game now, if the ball comes back, I’m playing well from the baseline and volleying well. That was the key this week. I was beating guys from so many different parts of the court. I was defending when I had to and stealing a lot of points that way, coming in and volleying. I won five matches this week and you can see that I won them in a lot of different ways

Even though you still have a few more tournaments this year, have you thought about anything you want to work on during the off-season?

My shoulder is dead now. I can still hit [serves], but it wasn’t comfortable. It’s going to be huge to get better flexibility and strength in the off-season. I’m going to work with Mark Kovacs for four weeks and he’s going to kill me the entire time. But that’s what the off-season is all about.

You’re in a very comfortable lead now with the USTA Pro Circuit wild card challenge for the Australian Open. More importantly, you’re now guaranteed to play qualifying there with your [Emirates ATP] Ranking. Do you feel like you can play more freely for the next few weeks?

Definitely. Like I said, the wild card doesn’t mean anything to me. But being in qualies for the Australian Open, seven or eight months of playing tennis with no stress, no points to defend. Obviously it’ll be a different story when the BB&T Atlanta Open comes around. [Laughs]. The summer is going to be a grind, but it’s like that for everyone.

How do you celebrate tonight?

It’s Sunday, so watch some football and probably continue my routine. I watched some basketball last night. I’ve got to get on a flight pretty soon for the next event as well.