Murray has been drawn alongside Swiss world No3 Stan Wawrinka, Japanese world No5 Kei Nishikori, and Croatian Marin Cilic in the John McEnroe Group, while world No2 Novak Djokovic shares the Ivan Lendl Group with third-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, and Finals debutants Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem.
Murray and Monfils both joined the live stream of the draw via Skype with the latter congratulating the Scot on his rise to world No1. “So cool I’m skyping with Andy,” an excited Monfils told someone with him in the room during the live feed.
The Scot was officially crowned No1 when the new rankings were released on Monday. Did he wake up feeling any differently on Monday?
“No, not really. Same as every other day when I’m home. It was a great day on Sunday, winning in Paris. But yeah, just normal day at home with my family,” said Murray, who defeated John Isner to capture his eighth title of the season in the French capital.
On making his No1 debut appearance in London next week, Murray added: “It’s obviously nice for that to happen and to get to play in London being ranked one but I think once you get out on the court you’re not thinking about your ranking.
“You’re playing against the best players in the world in this event, the top-eight players are here, every match is extremely tough. I look forward to getting out there, it’s amazing atmosphere playing at the O2, they get great crowds every year so it will be good fun.”
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The #ATPFinals draw is done ✅ The groups are set ✅ The battle for year-end No1 could come down to the wire @TheO2: https://t.co/PdDuooaFnu pic.twitter.com/RHUleEAb78
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) November 7, 2016
On his part, the 30-year-old Monfils is looking forward to competing in the Finals for the first time.
Asked why it may have taken him this long to join the game’s elite at the annual season finale, the French world No6 said: “I don’t know, maybe luck I guess. At the end I’m very happy to be here. It’s the first time, and I’m very proud to be part of this big tournament.”
Despite several injuries, Monfils has had a solid, consistent 2016, where he won a title in Washington, reached the finals at the Monte Carlo Masters and Rotterdam, and made the semis at the US Open and quarters at the Australian Open. He joined forces with Swedish coach Mikael Tillstrom at the end of last season and their work together has clearly paid dividends.
“I guess the difference has been the way I’ve been handling my job outside the court and on the court. I think I had a good change with my team, my new coach gave me a lot of new tips and helped me understand so much better a lot of things and we worked hard and now it’s paying off,” Monfils said of the reasons behind his surge this season.”
Speaking about his group in London, Monfils added: “It’s a good draw. It’s a top competition, we all played each other this year, except with Dominic. I had tough battles against Milos and against Novak. I expect to bring the best of myself if I want to beat those guys.”
.@andy_murray has some great advice for @Gael_Monfils, who will make his #ATPFinals debut. Join players now live: https://t.co/vhUhaGhgRL pic.twitter.com/z1idB1RD98
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) November 7, 2016
With the ATP World Tour Finals kicking off on November 13, here are the takeaways from the draw:
LOPSIDED GROUPS
Djokovic may be struggling mentally at the moment but he should have no problem in his group.
Raonic is a doubt for the tournament after suffering a tear in his right quad during the Paris Masters.
If he pulls out, Tomas Berdych replaces him and the Czech is a miserable 2-25 against Djokovic.
Monfils pulled out of Paris with a rib injury and hasn’t played since mid-October, while Thiem has won just two of his last seven matches and has run out of steam in the second-half of 2016.
Murray on the other hand shares a group with the reigning US Open champion Wawrinka, and in-form players Nishikori (Basel final, US Open semis) and Cilic (Basel champion, beat Djokovic in Paris).
HOW WILL THE FIRST-TIMERS FARE?
Question marks surround both Monfils and Thiem but they can take advantage of their group.
Putting the Djokovic match-up aside, all other clashes are wide open. Monfils will enjoy flaunting his skills in an O2 arena atmosphere that is tailor-made for him.
MURRAY’S CORONATION PARTY
The Finals couldn’t have come at a better time for Murray who will make his debut as world No1 on home soil. He has also won his last four tournaments and is the one to beat. His tough group means though that he will have to fight hard if he plans on ending the year as No1.
CAN CILIC GET A FIRST WIN AT THE O2?
Cilic has made one previous appearance in the ATP World Tour Finals, in 2014 after he won the US Open, and he went 0-3 in the group stage. This time the 28-year-old heads to London with considerable momentum having won 21 of his last 25 matches, including titles in Cincinnati and Basel. Can he make it through the tough McEnroe Group and reach the semis?
