5 Players to watch out for in the London Masters
The final ATP event of the year is about to begin in London and it will be interesting to see how Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic fare in a tournament which will once again be without Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Andy Murray had already stated after the Beijing Open in September that he would not be taking part in any events in the ongoing year. Rafael Nadal will miss the tournament as he has opted out due to an ankle injury and abdominal pain.
Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina has also opted to miss the tournament due to an injury. As we all know ATP events provide a perfect platform for some of the unseeded and lesser-known players to gain experience by playing alongside some of the greatest players in the sport which eventually helps to them prepare for some of the bigger tournaments like a Grand Slam. It also helps them grow as a player. Roger Federer won the Swiss Indoors in Basel last month by beating Marius Copil of Romania in the final. He also made it to the semifinals of Paris Masters this month.
The Swiss legend will surely be amongst the favourites to lift the title and it will be foolish to not consider him as a contender for winning the tournament. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic would be brimming with confidence as the Serbian has looked in prime form since July winning 2 Grand Slam tournaments and ATP events. The 31-year-old recently made it to the final of Paris Masters this month where he lost to Russian Karen Khachanov.
Djokovic will be eager to continue with his fine run of form which would help him prepare for the events in the next year. At the moment the Serbian is occupying the number 1 position in the rankings and finishing the year on a positive note would be like an icing on the cake for him. Apart from Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are players like Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic etc who have qualified for the finals. We take a look at 5 such players who could be billed as favourites to win the title.