ATP Tour World Final 2009 Won by Davydenko

London is Calling... From Russia With Love

The ATP World Tour Final took place in London this year, on an indoor hard court, after its former location, Shanghai, relinquished the year ending honors to the famous Wimbledon host country. The star-studded lineup included the top eight players of the world, in order of ranking:

The Top 8 Players in the World Compete for the Year-End Title

1. Roger Federer
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Andy Murray
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Nikolay Davydenko
7. Fernando Verdasco
8. Robin Soderling

Andy Roddick had to withdraw at the last moment due to a lingering knee injury, and James Blake did not have enough points to qualify.

The ATP World Tour Final Features a Unique Round-Robin Format

The ATP World Tour Final tournament is unique in that it offers a round robin format in which two groups of four players face off amongst each other, after which the two winners of each group advance to the semi final. Each remaining player then faces off for a spot in the final.

Tight Scores Are Almost Too Tight to Call

This year, for the first time since we can remember, the scores were so tight that it took the scorekeepers almost half an hour to determine the outcome of one match. Normally, the players with the most matches won proceed to the next round. If they're tied in terms of number of matches won, they count the number of sets won, minus the number of sets lost. If this number is the same, as was the case in more than one match this year, they count the number of games. If the number of games is the same, the only variable left is the number of points won. This year, the unlucky loser was Andy Murray, who missed a spot in the semifinal berth by one game (he was 44-43).

Nikolay Davydenko Takes the Crown

While this year's ATP World Tour Final treated its fans with several thrilling matches, one of the most intense matches of the tournament was the semifinal featuring Nikolay Davydenko versus Roger Federer. Going into the match Roger Federer had 12 straight wins (and not a single loss) against "Niko". But on this day, Davydenko was determined, and went all out. Federer was two points away from taking the match at 6-2, 4-6, 5-4, with Davydenko serving at 0-30.

The Federer Express must have relaxed a bit, because Davydenko turned it on, smashing groundstroke after groundstroke, and didn't look back. He took the third set 7-5. You could tell how much it meant to the Swiss, even after closing the year end at number one and capturing his long sought after French Open title (not to mention Wimbledon again), as he almost looked teary eyed as he shook Niko's hand at net. Nikolay would roll with the momentum into the final, where he took down 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro ("Del Po") in a resounding straight set victory, 6-3, 6-4.