London calling! Tennis stars desperate to reach ATP Tour Finals

US Open champion Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, Murray, David Ferrer, and Grigor Dimitrov are fighting for the three berths with each of them having equal chances to make the trip to the United Kingdom. They will have to maximise their efforts in events in Basel and Valencia next week before making a last ditch attempt in the Masters 100 in Paris, a prelude to the ATP Tour Finals.

Cilic, who caused a stir back home in Croatia after he emerged as the surprise winner at the Flushing Meadows, is currently behind Japanese star Nishikori in the race to London. Since his major breakthrough, the world No 8 has failed to repeat the form that took him to his maiden Grand Slam victory, losing in the quarter-finals in Beijing and the first round in Shanghai Masters 100.

However, he rebounded quickly this week by reaching the semis in Moscow and was just 10 points away from 4,000, which is likely to get him even closer to his first-ever appearance in the World Tour Finals.

The scenario is also promising for the Czech world No 7 Berdych, who among the six is enjoying the best results in the post-US Open swing tournaments. He reached the final in Beijing, the quarter-finals in Shanghai and on Friday night advanced to the semi-finals in Stockholm. He and Cilic are the two out of the six that have reached 3,900 points, with a gap of 200 points from the rest.

Providing that Cilic and Berdych win two rounds in each of their next two events, they should be safe. If so, it comes down to Raonic, Murray, Ferrer and Dimitrov fighting for the last spot.

With a strong showing, including a semi-final at Wimbledon, Raonic has raised himself as a strong contender for the Tour Finals but two back-to-back early exits in Shanghai and Moscow pushed him backwards, raising hopes for Murray, Ferrer and Dimitrov who are chasing him. The Canadian has no choice but to reach the deeper stages of Basel tournament next week as well as in Paris the week after if he wishes to make his debut in the Tour Finals.

Murray, for the first time in years, is doing all he can to earn a slot in the Finals, which is important to him since it is his home tournament. But as a former member of the Big Four, Murray can never be written off from the contender’s list. Keep a close eye on him and Dimitrov in the next fortnight.

However, one more spot can be up for grabs if Nadal makes the decision to skip London to undergo an appendicitis operation. That could open a door for the contenders. Until then, each victory really counts for the six guys. It has become like a staring contest. One blink and one is out.