The 2015 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2015 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 15 and 22 November 2015. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams on the 2015 ATP World Tour.
The 2015 ATP World Tour Finals took place from 15 to 22 November at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. It is the 46th edition of the tournament (41st in doubles). The tournament is run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and is part of the 2015 ATP World Tour. The event takes place on indoor hard courts. It serves as the season-ending championships for players on the ATP Tour. The eight players who qualify for the event are split into two groups of four. During this stage, players compete 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 progress to the semi-finals, where the winners of a group face the runners-up of the other group. This stage, however, is a knock-out stage. The doubles competition uses the same format.[1]
Format
The ATP World Tour Finals has a round-robin format, with eight players/teams divided into two groups of four. The eight seeds are determined by the ATP rankings and ATP Doubles Team Rankings on the Monday after the last ATP World Tour tournament of the calendar year. All singles matches are the best of three tie-break sets, including the final. All doubles matches are two sets (no ad) and a Match Tie-break.[2]
Group name changes
The ATP has announced that the group names will be changed from A and B to that of former champions of the event. In 2015 the groups will be renamed after the first two champions Stan Smith (1970) and Ilie Năstase (1971–73, 75).[3]
Points and prize money
Stage
Singles
Doubles1
Points
Champion
RR + $1,560,000
RR + $245,000
RR + 900
Runner-up
RR + $510,000
RR + $83,000
RR + 400
Round robin win per match
$167,000
$32,000
200
Participation fee RR1
$100,000
$82,000
—
Participation fee RR2
$25,000
—
—
Participation fee RR3
$42,000
—
—
Alternates
$95,000
$32,000
—
RR is points or prize money won in the round robin swtage.
1 Prize money for doubles is per team.
An undefeated champion would earn the maximum 1,500 points and $2,228,000 in singles[4]
Qualification
Singles
Eight players compete at the tournament, with two named alternates. Players receive places in the following order of precedence:[5]
First, the top 7 players in the ATP rankings on the Monday after the final tournament of the ATP World Tour, that is, after the 2015 Paris Masters.
Second, up to two 2015 Grand Slam tournament winners ranked anywhere 8th–20th, in ranking order
Third, the eighth ranked player in the ATP rankings
In the event of this totaling more than 8 players, those lower down in the selection order become the alternates. If further alternates are needed, these players are selected by the ATP.[5]
Provisional rankings are published weekly as the ATP Race to the World Tour Finals, coinciding with the 52-week rolling ATP rankings on the date of selection. Points are accumulated in Grand Slam, ATP World Tour, Davis Cup, ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures tournaments from the 52 weeks prior to the selection date, with points from the previous years Tour Finals excluded. Players accrue points across 18 tournaments, usually made up of:
The best results from any 6 other tournaments that carry ranking points
All players must include the ranking points for mandatory Masters tournaments for which they are on the original acceptance list and for all Grand Slams for which they would be eligible, even if they do not compete (in which case they receive zero points). Furthermore, players who finished 2014 in the world's top 30 are commitment players who must (if not injured) include points for the 8 mandatory Masters tournament regardless of whether they enter, and who must compete in at least 4 ATP 500 tournaments (though the Monte Carlo Masters may count to this total), of which one must take place after the US Open. Zero point scores may also be taken from withdrawals by non-injured players from ATP 500 tournaments according to certain other conditions outlined by the ATP.[5] Beyond these rules, however, a player may substitute his next best tournament result for missed Masters and Grand Slam tournaments.
Players may have their ATP World Tour Masters 1000 commitment be reduced by one tournament, by reaching each of the following milestones:
600 tour level matches (as of 1 January 2015), including matches from Challengers and Futures played before year 2010;
12 years of service;
31 years of age (as of 1 January 2015).
Players must be defined by the ATP as in good standing to avail of the reduced commitment.[5]
Doubles
Eight teams compete at the tournament, with one named alternates. The eight competing teams receive places according to the same order of precedence as in Singles.[5] The named alternate will be offered first to any unaccepted teams in the selection order, then to the highest ranked unaccepted team, and then to a team selected by the ATP.[5] Points are accumulated in the same competitions as for the Singles tournament. However, for Doubles teams there are no commitment tournaments, so teams are ranked according to their 18 highest points scoring results from any tournaments.
On 4 June 2015, Novak Djokovic was announced as the tournament's first qualifier upon reaching the semi-finals of the 2015 French Open.[6]
Novak Djokovic began his season in Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Ivo Karlović in a tight three set match. He then went on to reach the final of every subsequent tournament he played, beginning with reclaiming the Australian Open title, defeating Andy Murray in four sets to become the first man in the Open Era to win five titles in Melbourne. After losing the final in Dubai Tennis Championships to Roger Federer, Djokovic went on a 28-match winning streak, first leading Serbia to the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup before winning the first three Masters 1000 titles of the year at the BNP Paribas Open, Miami Open and Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, beating Federer, Murray and Tomáš Berdych respectively in the finals.
After skipping Madrid, he successfully defended his title at the Rome Masters, defeating Federer in the final once again. At the French Open, Djokovic once again made it to the final, defeating Murray en route in a gruelling 5-set thriller in the semi-finals. Ultimately he lost the final to Stan Wawrinka, denying the Serb a first title in Paris and a Career Grand Slam. He quickly rebounded to win his third Wimbledon title, defeating Federer in the final for the second year in a row to successfully defend his title. In the first tournament of the US Open Series, Djokovic made it to the final of the Canada Masters for only the fourth time, making it to the final before losing to Murray in what was his first loss in nine encounters with the Scot. The next week, at the Western & Southern Open, Djokovic made it to the finals for the fifth time, but was once again defeated, this time by Roger Federer. This was the fifth time that Djokovic had been defeated in the finals of Cincinnati, the only ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title he has never won.
At the final slam of the year, the US Open, Djokovic was victorious, defeating Roger Federer in the finals. This victory meant Djokovic won 3 of the 4 Grand Slams in 2015; this is the second time he achieved this feat in his career, the other year being 2011 Novak Djokovic Tennis Season. In making it to the final, Djokovic reached the final of all 4 Grand Slams this year, achieving this feat for the first time in his career. After his US Open victory, Djokovic continued his triumph by winning the China Open defeating Rafael Nadal in the finals, thus extending his winning streak to 12 and extended his winning streak to 30 matches won in a row in Bejiing, where he has never lost in his six appearances. Djokovic then ventured to the Shanghai Rolex Masters as a three-time champion he was once again victorious, defeating Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the final. This marked the fifth Masters 1000 title of the year for Djokovic, tying the record for most Masters 1000 titles won in a single season. In the next tournament, the Paris Masters, Djokovic made history by winning his sixth Masters in 2015, the most Masters anyone has won in a single season with his victory over Andy Murray. His Masters 1000 tally was increased to 26, putting him one shy of Rafael Nadal who holds the record with 27. Djokovic is set to make his ninth consecutive appearance at the season finale.
Andy Murray won his first masters in clay in Madrid.
On 15 August, Andy Murray became the second player to qualify on 15 August, during his victorious campaign at the Rogers Cup.[7]
Andy Murray opened his campaign at the Hopman Cup, where he was partnered by Heather Watson. The Brits finished their group second behind Poland, despite being level on ties and matches won, however Murray won each of his singles matches against Benoît Paire, Jerzy Janowicz and Marinko Matosevic respectively. Murray's first competitive tournament of the year was the Australian Open, where he made it to the final for the fourth time, however lost to Novak Djokovic, becoming the first man in the Open Era to lose four Australian Open finals. After quarterfinal losses in both ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and Dubai Tennis Championships to Gilles Simon and Borna Ćorić respectively, Murray made it to the semi-finals in BNP Paribas Open, and his fourth final in Miami Open, losing to Djokovic in both instances.
He then went on to have his most successful clay court season to date, reaching his first ever final on clay at the BMW Open in Munich. He defeated home favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final to claim the first clay title of his career. This was followed up by reaching his first Masters 1000 final on clay, defeating three top 10 opponents in succession for the first time on clay, including a first clay court victory over Rafael Nadal, to win the title at the Madrid Open for the first time since 2008. Murray withdrew prior to his third round match against David Goffin in Rome Masters, citing fatigue, before reaching his third semi-final at the French Open, losing again to Djokovic in a thrilling five-set encounter. Murray began his grass court season by winning his fourth title at the Queen's Club, joining John McEnroe, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick for the most titles at the tournament in the Open Era. He made it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon, losing to Roger Federer in straight sets.
He then returned to the Queen's Club for the Davis Cup Quarterfinals, where he won both his singles and the doubles rubber against France to lead Great Britain to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup for the first time since 1981. Murray began the US Open Series by winning the Rogers Cup for the third time, defeating Djokovic for the first time since his historic triumph at the 2013 Wimbledon final. However, he fell in the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open to Federer. At the US Open, he suffered a surprising loss to South African Kevin Anderson in the fourth round. In his next two events the Shanghai Rolex Masters and BNP Paribas Masters, he lost Djokovic in the semi-finals and finals respectively. This is the eighth time Murray has qualified for the year-end championships, set to make his seventh appearance.
Roger Federer lost back-to-back slam finals in 2015.
On 8 September, Following his run to the US Open final, Roger Federer became the third man to qualify.
Roger Federer made a winning start to his 2015 season, winning the title at the Brisbane International, defeating Milos Raonic in three tight sets the final. He couldn't carry the momentum into the Australian Open however, losing in the third round against Andreas Seppi, bringing to an end his record streak of 11 consecutive semi-final appearances in Melbourne. Federer rebounded well in the Dubai Tennis Championships reaching his second final of the season, and subsequently defeating Novak Djokovic to win the title in Dubai for the unprecedented seventh time. After skipping the first round of the Davis Cup, Federer reached the final in Indian Wells for a record sixth time, however lost to Djokovic in three sets.
After an early exit in Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters against Gaël Monfils, Federer won the third title of his season, at the inaugural Istanbul Open, defeating Pablo Cuevas in the final. An opening round loss to Nick Kyrgios in Mutua Madrid Open was followed by reaching another final in Rome Masters, losing again to Djokovic, this time in straight sets. At the French Open he made the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. During the grass court season, Federer won a record eighth title in Gerry Weber Open, defeating Seppi in the final. Next, he competed at Wimbledon, where he was defeated by Djokovic in the final.
Federer's next tournament was the Western & Southern Open, he was victorious in the final, defeating Djokovic to win his 24th Masters 1000 title. In his next tournament, the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Federer entered as the defending champion. However, he was defeated in the first round by Albert Ramos Vinolas. After his shock defeat, Federer entered the Swiss Indoors as the defending champion. Here, he was victorious over Rafael Nadal in the pair's first meeting since the Australian Open in 2014. This marked the first time that Federer has beaten Nadal since 2012 BNP Paribas Open. After his Basel victory, Federer entered the Paris Masters. However, he was defeated by John Isner in the third round. This is the 14th consecutive time that Federer has qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals.
Stan Wawrinka claimed his second slam at Roland Garros.
On 9 September, Stan Wawrinka qualified for the third time.
Stan Wawrinka began the year by successfully defending his title at the Aircel Chennai Open against Aljaž Bedene. Coming in as the defending champion at the Australian Open, he was unable to lift the title when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals after losing the fifth set in a bagel. However, he bounced back by winning the Rotterdam Open defeating Czech Tomáš Berdych in three tight sets. However, following early success in the season, Wawrinka suffered a drought failing to win back-to-back in his next four events, the BNP Paribas Open, Miami Masters, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and Mutua Madrid Open. He was able to bounce back at the Rome Masters reaching the semi-finals before losing to compatriot Roger Federer. Despite his mixed results during the clay season, he was able to capture the biggest clay title and his second grand slam title at the French Open, when he upset world no. 1 Djokovic, ending the Serbians winning streak in the process as well. He then played at Queen's Club Championships losing to eventual runner-up Anderson. He followed it up with a decent showing at Wimbledon, reaching his second quarterfinal at the event losing to Richard Gasquet 11–9 in the fifth set.
At the US Open Series, he retired in his first match against Nick Kyrgios at the Rogers Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open losing to Federer. At the US Open, Wawrinka continued his good form at the slams, when he reached the semi-finals but once again he lost to his compatriot Federer in three quick sets. He won his fourth title of the year at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships defeating France's Benoît Paire in the final. At the Shanghai Rolex Masters he lost to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Back at Europe, Wawrinka suffered an upset loss at his home tournament Swiss Indoors losing to Ivo Karlović in the first round. At the BNP Paribas Masters, he suffered another loss to Djokovic in the semi-finals this time. This is Wawrinka's third time at the event having reached back-to-back semi-finals.
Rafael Nadal suffered only his second loss at Roland Garros
Rafael Nadal began the year as the defending Champion at the Qatar Total Open, but suffered a shocking three set defeat to Michael Berrer in the first round. He won the doubles title with Juan Mónaco. At the Australian Open, Nadal lost in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinal, thus ending a 17-match winning streak against the seventh-seeded Czech. He then competed at South American clay swing. He began with the Rio Open but lost in the semi-finals to Fabio Fognini. He then claimed his first title of the year and his 46th career clay-court title against Juan Mónaco at the Argentina Open. Nadal then participated at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open but suffered early defeats to Milos Raonic and Fernando Verdasco, in the quarterfinals and third round respectively. Nadal then began his spring clay season at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters and reached the semi-finals where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. After losing to Fognini again at the Barcelona Open quarterfinals, Nadal entered the Madrid Open as the two-time defending champion but lost in the final to Andy Murray in straight sets, resulting in his dropping out of the top five for the first time since 2005. In the Rome Masters, he lost to Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. Nadal came into the French Open at the five time defending but lost to eventual runner-up Djokovic in the quarterfinals, ending his winning streak of 39 consecutive victories in Paris since his defeat by Robin Söderling in 2009. Nadal went on to win the Mercedes Cup against Serbian Viktor Troicki, his first grass court title since he won at Wimbledon in 2010.He was unable to continue his good form on grass as he lost in the first round of the Aegon Championships to Alexandr Dolgopolov in three sets and the second round of Wimbledon to Dustin Brown. He won his third title of the year at the German Open defeating Fabio Fognini in the final.
Nadal's US Open Series wasn't that impressive as his best result was a quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup losing to Kei Nishikori. He then followed it up with third round loses at the Western & Southern Open and US Open, losing to Feliciano López and Fognini (despite having won the first two sets), respectively. This early exit ended Nadal's record 10-year streak of winning at least one major. He was able to bounce back at the China Open, reaching the final losing to Djokovic and the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He followed it up with his sixth final of the year at the Swiss Indoors losing to Federer. In his final tournament prior to the event, he fell in the quarterfinals to Wawrinka at the BNP Paribas Masters in two tie-break sets.
Berdych reached the finals of Monte Carlo
Tomáš Berdych began the year by reaching the final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open but lost the Spaniard David Ferrer in two tight sets. In the Australian Open, Berdych reached his second Australian Open semi-final, after defeating Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and ending his 16 match losing to the Spaniard. Berdych lost in four sets against Andy Murray in the semi-final. In his next event the Rotterdam Open, as the defending champion, he lost to Stan Wawrinka in three sets in the final. He followed it up with a semi-final appearance at the Dubai Tennis Championships losing to Novak Djokovic. Berdych lost his first quarterfinal of the year at the BNP Paribas Open, falling to Roger Federer. At the Miami Masters, Berdych reached the semi-finals, but lost to Andy Murray. Berdych then participated in the 2015 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, in which he defeated Gaël Monfils and Milos Raonic to reach the final, but eventually lost to Novak Djokovic. At the Mutua Madrid Open, Berdych lost in the semi-finals to Rafael Nadal. Following a quarterfinal appearance, the following week at the Rome Masters, Berdych reached a ranking career-best of No. 4. Berdych next competed at the French Open where he suffered his first loss prior to the last 8, when he fell in the fourth round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Berdych next competed at the Gerry Weber Open where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Ivo Karlović in three sets. Berdych reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships before losing to Gilles Simon in straight sets. Berdych lost in the second round of the Rogers Cup and the quarterfinals in the Western & Southern Open. Berdych then went on to reach the fourth round of the US Open before losing to Richard Gasquet in four sets after taking the first set. He followed with his first title of the year at the Shenzhen Open, defeating Guillermo García López in the final in straight sets. However, he could not carry his good form to the China Open as he lost in the first round to Pablo Cuevas. However, he made it to the quarterfinals in the Shanghai Masters event. Berdych then went on to win the Stockholm Open title and his 12th ATP World Tour title defeating Jack Sock in the final in straight sets. Berdych made it to the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Masters. He then qualified for the event for the sixth year in a row.
David Ferrer Ferrer began his season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he won his 22nd ATP World Tour title by defeating Tomáš Berdych in the final in straight sets. At the 2015 Australian Open, he made it to the fourth round, losing to Kei Nishikori. Ferrer followed that up by winning back-to-back 500 event titles at the Rio Open and Abierto Mexicano Telcel by defeating Fabio Fognini and Kei Nishikori, respectively. At the BNP Paribas Open, he suffered an upset loss to Bernard Tomic in the third round. He was able to reach the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters losing in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic. His European clay season was average, being able to reach the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo Rolex Masters and Mutua Madrid Open losing to Rafael Nadal and Nishikori, respectively and the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open and Rome Masters losing to Pablo Andújar and Djokovic, respectively. Ferrer was able to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open before losing to Andy Murray in four sets.
However, Ferrer lost his first match on grass at the Nottingham Open and withdrew from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury. He then came into the US Open with no preparation and lost to Jérémy Chardy in the third round. He bounced back by winning his 25th career title at the Malaysian Open defeating compatriot Feliciano López. At the China Open he lost to Djokovic once again this time in the semi-finals. He was upset again by a lower ranked Tomic in his first match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. He claimed his fifth title of the year at the Erste Bank Open, defeating Steve Johnson to bring his finals record in the year to 5–0. He followed it up with a semi-final showing at the BNP Paribas Masters falling to Murray.
Kei Nishikori began the 2015 season by participating in the Brisbane International and reached the semi-finals before being beaten by Milos Raonic in 3 tight-set tiebreaks. Nishikori equalled his best record yet in the Australian Open by reaching the quarterfinals, but he was beaten in straight sets by defending champion Stan Wawrinka. Nishikori won his eighth singles title and became the first ever player to win the Memphis Open three times in a row, beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final. He next participated in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel losing to David Ferrer in straight sets in the final but reached a new career high world ranking of No. 4. During the March Masters, he reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time in seven appearances but was upset by Feliciano López in straight sets in the fourth round. In the Miami Open, he reached the quarterfinals but lost to American John Isner in straight sets.
Nishikori began his clay-court season at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell where he defended his title by beating Pablo Andújar in the final in two sets. At the Mutua Madrid Open, Nishikori lost to Andy Murray in the semi-finals. At the Rome Masters, he faced world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the QF and lost in three sets. Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open in 82 years but lost to home favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five set. Nishikori opened his grass-court season by participating in the Halle Open where he reached the semi-finals, only to retire in his match against Andreas Seppi down 1–4 in the first set due to his calf injury which he attained in his quarterfinal match. Nishikori decided to play Wimbledon, but withdrew from his second round match against Santiago Giraldo, due to his calf injury.
Nishikori opened his hard-court season by competing at the Citi Open and reached the final where he beat John Isner in three tight sets to capture his third title of the year. At the Rogers Cup, he reached the semi-finals after defeating Rafael Nadal for the first time in eight tries but ended up losing to Murray. After reaching the final the previous year, He suffered a shocking loss in the first round of the US Open to Benoît Paire. Nishikori started the Asian Fall by participating in his hometown tournament, Rakuten Japan Open, where he reached the semi-finals but lost again to Paire. He reached third rounds of the Shanghai Rolex Masters and BNP Paribas Masters before losing to Kevin Anderson and retiring against Richard Gasquet. Nishikori qualified for the event for the second straight year in a row.
Tomáš Berdych is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, completing consecutive upsets in the defeat of top seed and six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, and of No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. In the final, he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. Berdych's biggest career title was the Paris Masters in 2005 as an unseeded player, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final. Berdych has reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slams. Alongside his Wimbledon performance in the same year, he reached the semifinals of the 2010 French Open, defeating fourth seed Andy Murray in straight sets in the fourth round, and dropping no sets until his loss in the semifinals to Robin Söderling. At the 2012 US Open he defeated No. 1 Roger Federer, again at the quarterfinal stage, before losing to eventual champion Murray. During the 2014 Australian Open he lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in four sets during the semifinals. He is the second player to defeat Roger Federer multiple times in Grand Slam events before the semifinal stage. He has the distinction of being one of three players, the others being Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka, to defeat all the Big Four in major events. Berdych is considered one of the best tennis players to have never won a Grand Slam title.As well as his Paris Masters win, Berdych reached the finals of the Miami Masters in 2010, Madrid Open in 2012 and Monte Carlo Masters in 2015. He first reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 4 in May 2015. He also played the longest ATP doubles match ever, with Lukáš Rosol, defeating Marco Chiudinelli and Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the 2013 Davis Cup 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–7, 24–22. The match was played on 2 February 2013, lasting 7 hours, 2 minutes. It was the second-longest ATP match ever.
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour except at a major, and currently has the ninth highest career prize money earnings of all time among male tennis players. Ferrer also holds the distinction of winning the most matches on the ATP Tour without having won a major, passing Brian Gottfried who held this record for 32 years. Ferrer turned professional in 2000 and was regarded as a clay-court specialist in his early career, winning 13 of his 27 titles on the surface. However, he has had significant success on all surfaces, having reached the final of the 2013 French Open, the semifinals of the Australian and US Opens twice each, and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon twice. Ferrer was part of the Spanish Davis Cup team that won the title in 2008, 2009, and 2011. He won the 2012 Paris Masters, and was runner-up at six other Masters tournaments as well as the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup. He is widely considered one of the best players not to have won a Grand Slam tournament. He first achieved a top-10 ranking in 2006 and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3 in July 2013. He retired in 2019, competing for the last time at his home tournament of Madrid.
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlights include three Grand Slam titles, those being the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open, where he defeated the world No. 1 player in the final on all three occasions. Other achievements include reaching the final of the 2017 French Open, winning an ATP Tour Masters 1000 title at the 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters, and reaching three other Masters finals. Representing Switzerland, Wawrinka won gold in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with teammate Roger Federer, and was also pivotal in the Swiss team's victory at the 2014 Davis Cup.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on the ATP Tour, including two Masters 1000 titles.
Kei Nishikori is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles, and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015. Nishikori has won 6 ATP Tour 500 titles, 6 ATP Tour 250 titles and was runner-up at the 2014 US Open, making him the first man representing an Asian country to reach a major singles final. He also became the first man from Asia to qualify for the ATP Finals, and reached the semifinals in 2014 and 2016. In addition, Nishikori defeated Rafael Nadal to win the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, bringing Japan its first Olympic tennis medal in 96 years. He holds the record for the highest win percentage in matches extending to five sets, with a record of 27–7 and a win percentage of 79.4%.
Roger Federer's 2011 tennis season brought no Major victories but was not entirely unsuccessful. This year, when he turned thirty, marked a decline in his standing in the sport. It was the first year since 2002 that he did not win a Grand Slam title, and, with the ascendance of Novak Djokovic to World No. 1, his ranking dropped from 2 to 3 behind Rafael Nadal. However, this season had some high points. In the French Open semifinals, Federer defeated Djokovic and ended his 43-match win streak. Also, he ended the year well by winning three straight titles, including a title at the Paris Masters, and successfully defended his title at the year-end ATP Championships.
The 2012 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2012 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 5 and 12 November 2012.
The 2013 Rafael Nadal tennis season is regarded as one of the greatest comeback seasons of all time. After not playing since June of the previous year, his season began on February 5 with the Chile Open, where he finished as the runner-up. Nadal rebounded with title victories at São Paulo and Acapulco. He then won the first Masters event of the year at Indian Wells. Nadal next finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Monte-Carlo, breaking his consecutive win streak for the first time in nine years. He followed that with victories at Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome. At the French Open, he defeated Djokovic in an epic semifinal, before defeating David Ferrer to win his eighth French Open crown. He was then stunned by Steve Darcis in the first round of Wimbledon, in what would be his only defeat prior to the semifinals of a tournament all season. Limping in the final set of the match, many thought his season was over. However, a strong hardcourt summer saw Nadal sweep Montreal, Cincinnati, and then the US Open, thus achieving the Summer Slam and clinching the US Open Series. He became the third player in history, after Patrick Rafter and Andy Roddick, to win all three events in succession. This granted him US$3.6 million in prize money, the most money earned by a male tennis player at a single tournament. A few days after the US Open final, he flew to Madrid to help the Spanish Davis Cup team secure their World Group Playoff spot for 2014, with a singles victory against Sergiy Stakhovsky and a doubles victory with Marc López.
The 2013 ATP World Tour Finals, also known as the 2013 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons, was a men's tennis tournament that was played on indoor hard courts at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 4 and 11 November 2013. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams of the 2013 ATP World Tour.
The 2014 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 9 and 16 November 2014. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams on the 2014 ATP World Tour. The Bryan Brothers won the title at the doubles tournament, while Novak Djokovic successfully defended his single title for the second time after Roger Federer withdrew from the final, the first walkover in a final in the tournament's 45-year history.
Roger Federer's 2014 tennis season officially began on 30 December 2013 with the start of the 2014 Brisbane International. This season was a resurgent season for Federer after a poor 2013 season. Before the start of the season Federer appointed Stefan Edberg as his coach and he also changed racquets for the first time, moving on from his longtime frame of 90 square inches to a 97 square inch frame. Federer reached a total of 11 finals, the most since his 2007 season. One of those finals included the Wimbledon final, his first major final since he won Wimbledon in 2012. After winning Shanghai, Federer returned to No. 2 in the world for the first time since May 2013. He also won the Davis Cup for the first time. Federer ended the year at No. 2 with 5 titles and with the most match wins since 2006.
The 2014 Novak Djokovic tennis season officially began on 30 December 2013 with the start of the 2014 ATP World Tour.
The 2015 Novak Djokovic tennis season is considered as one of the greatest seasons of all time by an individual tennis player. Selected achievements/records from this season are: winning 3 Major titles, becoming only the third man to reach all four major finals in an Open Era season, reigning as world number 1 for all 52 weeks of the year, winning a record 6 Masters 1000 tournaments, claiming the ATP World Tour Finals, reaching the final of 8 Masters 1000 tournaments, reaching a record 15 consecutive finals, a record 31 victories against players ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match and earning a record breaking amount of prize money. Djokovic had an impressive 15-4 record against the other 3 members of men's tennis's Big Four, including a 4-0 record versus Rafael Nadal, 5-3 against Roger Federer and 6-1 record against Andy Murray. Beyond that, he also finished the season with a 16-4 record against Top-5 players.
The 2015 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on 5 January 2015 with the start of the 2015 Qatar Open.
Roger Federer's 2015 tennis season began on 4 January 2015 at the 2015 Brisbane International. Federer added a new tactic nicknamed the SABR to his strategy. Like the prior season, he reached 11 finals. Highlights from this season include winning his 1000th career match in Brisbane, surpassing 9000 aces in Dubai, winning his first red clay court title in almost 6 years at the Istanbul Open, and two major runner-up finishes at both Wimbledon and the US Open. Despite the success, Federer dropped a rank to No. 3, ending the year with 6 titles.
The 2015 Stan Wawrinka tennis season began at the Chennai Open, where he won the title for the third time in his career. This was followed by an unsuccessful defense of his title at the Australian Open, where he lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in five sets. A few months later, after a relatively unsuccessful clay season, Stan won his second major title at the French Open, defeating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the process.
The 2016 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2016 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, from 13 to 20 November 2016. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams on the 2016 ATP World Tour.
The 2016 Novak Djokovic tennis season officially commenced on 4 January with the start of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Andy Murray's 2016 tennis season began at the Australian Open. The 2016 season was Murray's greatest season, as he finished the season as the year-end world No. 1 player and clinched the year-end prize money title. Andy and Jamie Murray, also became the first brothers to finish as year-end No. 1 ranked players in singles and doubles team, respectively. He won an ATP-best and career-high nine Tour titles from 13 finals, including his second Wimbledon crown and second successive Olympic gold medal in singles, thus becoming the first person, man or woman, to defend the Olympic singles title. In the 2016 season, Murray became the first male player to win singles titles at a Grand Slam, the Olympics, a Masters 1000 event, and the ATP Finals in the same calendar year.
The Big Three is a common nickname in tennis for the trio of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, each considered to be among the greatest players of all time. The trio have dominated men's singles tennis for two decades, collectively winning 66 major singles tournaments; Djokovic leads with an all-time record of 24 titles, followed by Nadal with 22 and Federer with 20. They have been ranked as world No. 1s in singles for a total of 917 weeks ; Djokovic for a record 398 weeks, Federer for 310, and Nadal for 209. One of the three finished the season as the year-end No. 1 player every year from 2004 to 2021, with the exception of 2016. They have collectively occupied the top-three positions of the year-end ATP rankings eight times; in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2019.
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Novak Djokovic 
Jean-Julien Rojer / 
Horia Tecău 
