Why You Should Be Wagering the ATP World Tour Finals 2017

Contributor | November 9th, 2017

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The 2017 ATP World Tour Finals are shaping up to be an intriguing week of tennis, with several new faces and a new sponsor to spice things up. Now branded the Nitto ATP Finals, the finals will start this Sunday at The O2 in London.

Last year’s finalists, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, are both missing out due to injury, so the four debutants might have a shot at the title. However, they'll still have to contend with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

It’s these familiar names leading the betting going into the tournament. Will it be one of them who takes the title, or can one of the new guard step up? With the two groups now allocated, it’s time to take a look at the runners and riders and see where the best bets might be.

Federer Aiming to Cap a Great Year

Roger Federer has enjoyed quite a renaissance in 2017. Having been hampered by injuries on and off over the previous few years, he’s come back in style to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as five other ATP titles.

Five of his seven titles were won on hard court and he warmed up for this tournament with a victory at the Swiss Indoors last month. He’s already defeated his old rival Rafael Nadal in three finals this season and has won the ATP World Tour Finals six times – although the last one was back in 2011.

Despite being second to Nadal in the world rankings, Federer’s superior record in this competition and on indoor hard courts makes him the favourite among the bookies. He is best-priced at 4/6 with SunBets to claim his seventh World Tour Finals crown.

Nadal Seeking First Finals Win

Like Federer, Rafael Nadal has also returned to the top of world tennis following injury problems. The Spaniard climbed to World No. 1 in August and, regardless of what happens next week, he will end the year at the top for the fourth time in his career – no other player has achieved this feat.

However, four of his six titles this season were on his favoured surface of clay and he has never won an indoors title in his professional career. The World Tour Finals is the one major tournament that has eluded him so far, so he’ll be determined to add it to his collection.

To do so, he’ll almost certainly have to get past his nemesis Federer with the top two seeds drawn in separate groups. Nadal has lost all four of his meetings with the Wimbledon champion this season although he did beat him when they last met in this tournament four years ago. The 31-year-old can be backed at 7/2 with 10Bet to finally break his indoor duck.

Zverev Leads the Pretenders

As for the other six players who have qualified for the season-ending contest, World No. 3 Alexander Zverev is, logically, the most fancied among sportsbook sites. As the old guard of Federer and Nadal continue to dominate tennis, 20-year-old Zverev is seen as the sport’s brightest young talent and is currently the youngest player inside the ATP top 30.

The German has already claimed six singles titles in his career, including four this year, although this would be by far his biggest so far. Zverev has been drawn in the ‘Boris Becker Group’ alongside Federer, a man he has beaten in two of their four encounters. If he manages to do so again, his odds of 8/1 with Coral Sports are sure to tumble.

Zverev is one of four debutants at this year’s World Tour Finals, along with Jack Sock, Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin. In fact, the only one of Federer’s group opponents who has competed in the tournament before is Marin Cilic.

The Croatian played at The O2 in 2014 and 2016 but failed to make it beyond the round robin stage on both occasions. He has won a total of 17 singles titles in his career and broke into the world’s top five for the first time this season, but to progress to the semi-finals next week he’ll probably have to overcome Federer, who he’s only beaten once in eight attempts.

It’s therefore not surprising that he’s as long as 12/1 with bet365 to claim his first World Tour Finals win. The action begins on Sunday 12 November and concludes with the final the following Sunday 19 November. Open a new account at SunBets today and get a free bet to spend on the tournament!