The 2011 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom between 20 and 27 November 2011. The defending champion in singles was Roger Federer, while the defending champions in doubles were Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić. However, they did not defend their title together because they separated after the 2010 event. Zimonjic partnered with Michaël Llodra for the season, and Nestor partnered with Max Mirnyi. Federer successfully defended his crown, winning a record-breaking sixth title, while Nestor and Mirnyi captured the doubles title.[2][3][4][5]
Singles play on the O2 Arena during the 2010 event
The 2011 ATP World Tour Finals took place from 20 to 27 November at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom.[6] It was the 42nd edition of the tournament (37th for doubles). The tournament was run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and was part of the 2011 ATP World Tour. The event took place on indoor hard courts. It served as the season-ending championships for players on the ATP Tour. The eight players who qualified for the event were split into two groups of four. During this stage, players competed in a round-robin format (meaning players play against all the other players in their group). The two players with the best results in each group progressed to the semifinals, where the winners of a group faced the runners-up of the other group. This stage, however, was a knock-out stage. The doubles competition used the same format.[1][7]
2 Pro-rated on a per-match basis: $70,000 = 1 match, $95,000 = 2 matches, $120,000 = 3 matches
3 Pro-rated on a per-match basis: $30,000 = 1 match, $50,000 = 2 matches, $65,000 = 3 matches
Qualification
The top eight players (or teams) with the most countable points accumulated in Grand Slam, ATP World Tour, and Davis Cup tournaments during the year qualified for the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Countable points included points earned in 2011, plus points earned at the 2010 Davis Cup final and the late-season 2010 Challengers played after the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
To qualify, a player who finished in the 2010 year-end top 30 must have competed in four Grand Slam tournaments and eight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments during 2011. The best four ATP World Tour 500 events in 2011 and best two ATP World Tour 250 events in 2011 counted towards the ranking. All direct acceptance players at the time of the entry deadline who did not play an event receive a 0-pointer for that event. The Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 1000 became optional in 2009, but if a player chose to participate in it, its result was counted in and the fourth-best result in an ATP 500 event was ignored (the three best ATP 500 results remained).[8] If a player did not play enough ATP 500 events and did not have an ATP 250 or Challenger appearances with a better result, the Davis Cup was counted in the 500s table (if the player entered or achieved better results). If a player did not play enough ATP 250 or Challenger events, the World Team Championship was counted in the 250s table (if the player entered or achieved better results). If a player could not be present in all required tournament classes (i.e. because of an injury), all uncounted ATP 250 or Challenger results were eligible to be included in the 18 valid tournaments. In teams rankings, Challenger points were excluded.
A player who was out of competition for 30 or more days, due to a verified injury, was not penalized. The 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals counted as an additional 19th tournament in the ranking of its eight qualifiers at season's end, while the Davis Cup Final points counted towards the next year's race.[9]
Novak Djokovic began the year by winning the Australian Open, his second Grand Slam title, defeating 2010 runner-upAndy Murray, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3, in the final.[17] In February, he successfully defended his title for the second time at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating Roger Federer, 6–3, 6–3.[18] The Serb closed the following month by clinching the "Sunshine double" (both hard-court Masters title in Indian Wells and Miami) for the first time since Roger Federer last did so in 2006.[19] He defeated Rafael Nadal in both those finals in three sets, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, and 4–6, 6–3, 7–6, respectively. It was the first time since 1995 that Indian Wells and Miami featured the same two finalists and the top 2 ranked players.[19] His flawless season start continued onto the clay circuit with his successful defense of the 2011 Serbia Open trophy against Feliciano López, 7–6, 6–2.[20] Djokovic went on to win his seventh title of the year in the Madrid Masters, ending defending champion Nadal's clay dominance in straight sets.[21] At the Rome Masters, he repeated this achievement by defeating the Spaniard, 6–4, 6–4, in their fourth consecutive Masters final.[22] His 43-match winning streak ended in the 2011 French Open, when Roger Federer—whom he had beaten three times in 2011 and who was the last to beat him in the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals—overcame him in four sets, 6–7, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7in the semifinal.[23] Djokovic then won his first grass title and first non-Australian Grand Slam at Wimbledon, defeating Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3, in the final.[24] Djokovic became the 25th world no. 1, after reaching the final of Wimbledon.[25] In the 2011 US Open Series, Djokovic finished second, after winning the 2011 Rogers Cup over American Mardy Fish, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, and being runner-up to Andy Murray, 4–6, 0–3, after Djokovic retired due to a sore shoulder at the 2011 Western & Southern Open.[26][27] He then won his third Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 US Open, after finishing runner-up twice at the Open, defeating Rafael Nadal, 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1, after defeating Roger Federer in the semifinals, coming back from two sets down and saving two match points.[28][29] Djokovic also recorded the highest prize money in a single season of $11.2 million.[1][30]
Rafael Nadal defending his Roland Garros title for the record-tying sixth time.
Rafael Nadal began his season at the 2011 Qatar Open, being defeated in straight sets by defending champion Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals.[31] He went on to the Australian Open, where he also reached the quarterfinals, losing to compatriot David Ferrer in straight sets, which ended his chances of a "Rafa Slam".[32] In the Indian Well-Miami Masters swing, Nadal reached the final twice, but lost both times to Novak Djokovic, both in three tight sets.[33][34] Returning to the Europe for the European clay swing, Nadal headed to the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Nadal took the championship over compatriot David Ferrer, 6–4, 7–5, his seventh consecutive Monte Carlo crown.[35] Nadal continued his unbeaten clay streak going back to 2009 by winning the Torneo Godó. This tournament marked his 500th ATP victory, after beating Ivan Dodig in the semifinal.[36] Nadal clinched the trophy for the sixth time, defeating David Ferrer for the second week in a row.[37] Nadal saw his clay streak end as he lost to Djokovic again, this time in his home Masters at Madrid.[21] He also lost to Djokovic at the Rome Masters.[22] In the 2011 French Open, Nadal was forced to a five-set match for the first time in Roland Garros history in the opening round against John Isner, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 6–2, 6–4.[38] He reached the final, where he overcame Roger Federer in four sets. This was his sixth French Open title, tying him with Björn Borg for the most French Open titles in the open era.[39] At Wimbledon, Nadal lost his first Wimbledon match since 2007 in the final to Djokovic 4–6, 1–6, 6–1, 6–3.[24] In the US Open Series, Nadal lost his first opening-round match since 2008 Rome, falling to Ivan Dodig, 6–1, 6–7, 6–7.[40] At the US Open, Nadal once again fell to Djokovic in the final for the sixth time in the year.[1][28]
Andy Murray wins his first title of the year at Queens
On 3 September Roger Federer qualified for the World Tour Finals, after defeating Marin Čilić in the third round at the US Open, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, marking his tenth consecutive year in the finals.[13]
Roger Federer began the year by winning the 2011 Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko, 6–3, 6–3, without dropping a set in the tournament. This marks the 11th straight year that Federer won a singles title.[46] Federer then reached the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open, falling to Novak Djokovic, 6–7, 5–7, 4–6.[47] He then reached his second final of the year at the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, losing to Djokovic, 3–6, 3–6.[18] He then reached the semifinals of Indian Wells, Miami, and Madrid. At the 2011 French Open, Federer ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak in the semifinals, 7–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6.[23] However, he fell in the final to Rafael Nadal in four sets, 5–7, 6–7, 7–5, 1–6.[39] At Wimbledon, the Swiss fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6. This marks the first time that Federer fell after leading two sets to love in a Grand Slam.[48] He then fell early in Montreal and Cincinnati. At the 2011 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, falling to Djokovic after leading two sets to love and having two match points in the fifth set, 7–6, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 5–7.[29] Federer won his second title of the year at the Swiss Indoors Basel ending his 10-month title drought. He defeated Japanese wildcard Kei Nishikori, 6–1, 6–3.[49] The following week, Federer won his first BNP Paribas Masters title in Paris after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets, 6–1, 7–6.[1]
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga started the year having missed much of the end of the 2010 season because of injury.[56] He reached the third round of the Australian Open[56] and made his first final since October 2009 at the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he lost to Robin Söderling 3–6, 6–3, 3–6.[57] In May, he dropped out of the top 20 for the first time since January 2008.[58] Tsonga then made his first grass-court final at the Aegon Championships in London, where he was defeated by Andy Murray, 6–3, 6–7, 4–6.[41] He carried this form into Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals. He came from two sets to love behind to defeat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4.[48] At the US Open, he faced another quarterfinal against Federer, but this time was defeated. He then won two titles: his first in two years at the Open de Moselle over Ivan Ljubičić, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3[59] and the Erste Bank Open, this time defeating Juan Martín del Potro, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, in the final.[60] Jo also made the final of the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters in November for the second time, after winning in 2008. However, this time he was defeated by Roger Federer 1–6, 6–7. Tsonga was competing for the second time, having previously competed in 2008.[1]
Tomáš Berdych's season was characterised by repeated appearances in Masters' quarter- and semifinals, with poorer performances at Grand Slams. He reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic 1–6, 6–7, 1–6.[61] After struggling with injuries in February, Berdych made a number of quarter- and semifinals in the clay and grass court seasons, but did not progress to any finals. At the French Open, Berdych suffered a shocking first-round loss to Stéphane Robert, 6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 2–6, 7–9,[62] and was defeated 6–7, 4–6, 4–6 by Mardy Fish in the fourth round of Wimbledon. He also retired in the third round of the US Open against Janko Tipsarević while down 4–6, 0–5, due to a shoulder injury.[63] Berdych reached his first final of the season at the China Open, where he faced Croatian Marin Čilić, defeating him 3–6, 6–4, 6–1. This was the sixth title of his career and his first title since the 2009 BMW Open.[64] This was his second successive appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals.[1][65]
Mardy Fish had a breakthrough season by cracking the top 10 for the first time. He won the US Open Series by reaching three consecutive finals. His first final was at the Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he was the defending champion. He faced compatriot John Isner and defeated him 3–6, 7–6, 6–2.[66] He then reached the final of the Farmers Classic, where he was upset by no. 84-ranked Ernests Gulbis 7–5, 4–6, 4–6.[67] He then reached his fourth Masters final of his career at the Rogers Cup, but once again lost, this time to Novak Djokovic, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4,[26] At the Grand Slams, he was upset by Tommy Robredo in the second round of the Australian Open 6–1, 3–6, 3–6, 3–6. He then fell in the third round of the French Open to Gilles Simon and the fourth round of the US Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He also reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinals, but lost to Rafael Nadal 3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 4–6. He was the only debutant at the event.[1]
On 14 October, the team of Mahesh Bhupathi & Leander Paes were the fifth team to qualify after reaching the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, the Indian pair teamed for the first time since 2002. They won their first title of the year at their home tournament, the Aircel Chennai Open defeating Haase/Martin 6–2, 6–7, [10–7].[109] They then reached the final of the Australian Open losing to Bryan/Bryan 3–6, 4–6.[83] They also reached the final of the Sony Ericsson Open where they defeated the team of Minryi/Nestor 6–7, 6–2, [10–5].[104] They then reached the final of the Aegon Championships where they faced Bryan/Bryan in the final but end up losing 7–6, 6–7, [6–10].[88] They then claimed their third total of the year at the Western & Southern Open defeating Llodra/Zimonjić in two close sets, 7–6, 7–6.[97] Bhupathi also finished runner-up at the Mixed Doubles of Wimbledon with Elena Vesnina losing to Melzer/Benešová 3–6, 2–6.[1][108]
On 1 November, the pair of Swede Robert Lindstedt & Romanian Horia Tecău were announced as sixth team to qualify.
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski were the only team not to win a title in the ATP World Tour, which meant that they needed to win the event to continue their streak since 2003 to win at least one doubles title. However, they won an ATP Challenger event at the BNP Paribas Polish Open. Their biggest triumph came in the US Open, where they reached their first Slam final as a team and as individuals, however they lost to the team of Melzer/Petzschner 6–2, 6–2.[1][106]
Group A was led by world no. 1 Novak Djokovic and Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray. They were joined by Spaniard David Ferrer and Czech Tomáš Berdych. Against the rest of the group, top seed Novak Djokovic was 19–9, third seed Andy Murray was 10–12, fifth seed David Ferrer was 12–13, and seventh seed Tomáš Berdych was 6–13.[120]
Djokovic had a good record against each member of his group. He was 6–4 against Murray and 2–1 in the year, with Murray winning their last encounter at the final of the Western & Southern Open 6–4, 3–0 ret., and Djokovic winning in Internazionali BNL d'Italia semifinal 6–1, 3–6, 7–6 and Australian Open final 6–4, 6–2, 6–3. Djokovic was also 6–4 against Ferrer, winning their only encounter in 2011 at the Mutua Madrid Open 6–4, 4–6, 6–3. He was 7–1 against Berdych, winning their last five encounters including three in the year, with his last win coming in the Western & Southern Open semifinal 7–5 ret. Murray led Ferrer by 5–3 and won their three encounters in 2011 including the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters 7–5, 6–4. However, Murray trailed Berdych 1–3, with Murray's last win coming in 2005 and Berdych winning their only match-up in 2011 at the BNP Paribas Masters 4–6, 7–6, 6–4. In the last head-to-head of the group Ferrer led Berdych 5–2 and won the last four with the last encounter coming in 2010 at the Malaysian Open 4–6, 7–5, 6–4.[1]
Group B was led by the French Open champion and 10-time Slam champion Rafael Nadal, and 16-time Slam champion and French Open runner-up Roger Federer. They were joined by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the only debutant American, Mardy Fish. Against the rest of the group, no. 2 seed Rafael Nadal was 30–11, no. 4 seed Roger Federer was 20–21, no. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was 6–12, and no. 8 seed Mardy Fish was 2–14.[120]
Like Djokovic, Nadal had a great record against each of Group B members. Nadal led Federer 17–8, including all three encounters in the year, the last being at the final of the French Open 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1. He was 6–2 against Tsonga, splitting their encounters in 2011, Tsonga winning in the Aegon Championships 6–7, 6–4, 6–1 and Nadal winning in the Davis Group semifinal between Spain and France 6–0, 6–2, 6–4. Nadal led Fish 7–1, meeting three times in the year with Nadal winning in Wimbledon 6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4, Fish' only win coming in the Western & Southern Open 6–3, 6–4, and Nadal winning in the Toray Pan Pacific Open 7–5, 6–1. Federer led Tsonga 6–3, and met six times in 2011 win Federer winning four of them, and the last coming in the final of the BNP Paribas Masters, Federer prevailing 6–1, 7–6. Federer led Fish 6–1, with their last match coming in 2010 in the final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters with Federer winning 6–7, 7–6, 6–4. Tsonga led Fish by 1–0, with their only encounter coming in the fourth round of the 2011 US Open 6–4, 6–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2.
^ abCharles Lin (11 May 2011). "Rome: How Djokovic could become number 1". essentialtennis.com. Pennsylvania, United States: Ian Westermann – Essential Tennis. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
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