It's time for some exhilarating tennis action as the elite eight have headed to London to feature in the season-ending Nitto ATP World Tour Finals 2017, starting Sunday (November 12).
The focus will be on world number one Rafael Nadal and world number two Roger Federer as the two have a chance to meet for fifth and one last time this year.
Both the legends, who have won 35 Grand Slam titles between them, reminded critics why they should not be ruling them out by dominating the rest of the field in 2017 by winning 13 titles between them, including all the four Grand Slam titles.
It will only be fitting if Federer and Nadal play the title match in London on November 19 at the O2 Arena. However, nothing comes guaranteed in the high-profile tournament despite the absence of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka as younger stars will be eager to grab the limelight in London in the coming week.
Here's all that you need to know about the upcoming year-ending tournament
Eight players have been drawn into two groups - Pete Sampras and Boris Becker. While top seed Nadal leads the former, second seed Federer is among the favourites in the latter group.
Here's how the groups look like (Seeding inside parenthesis)
| Pete Sampras group | Boris Becker group |
| Rafael Nadal (1) | Roger Federer (2) |
| Dominic Thiem (4) | Alexander Zverev (3) |
| Grigor Dimitrov (6) | Marin Cilic (5) |
| David Goffin (7) | Jack Sock (8) |
Sampras group analysis
Nadal
Titles won in 2017: 6
Record against group opponents: Thiem (5-2); Dimitrov (10-1); Goffin (2-0)
Two-time finalist Nadal will be more motivated than ever as he has never won the year-ending title, according to coach Carlos Moya. However, doubts over his fitness after a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from Paris Masters midway remains. Despite confirming his participation, the Spaniard has said his knee is not perfect.
Thiem
Titles won in 2017: 1
Record against group opponents: Nadal (2-5); Dimitrov (2-1); Goffin (3-7)
24-year-old Thiem had a dream run on clay this season, reaching the semi-final of French Open and even stopping Nadal from winning the Rome Masters. However, the Austrian has struggled to even get past the first rounds in Chengdu, Tokyo and Shanghai following his fourth round-exit at US Open and is short on confidence ahead of his second appearance in the year-ending tournament.
Dimitrov
Titles won in 2017: 3
Record against group opponents: Nadal (1-10); Thiem (1-2); Goffin (6-1)
After reaching the semi-final of the Australian Open and winning three titles this year, Dimitrov assured himself a spot in his maiden ATP World Tour Finals. Despite not being able to continue his early-season form, the Bulgarian is expected to give a stiff fight to his groupmates on his favourite surface in London.
Goffin
Titles won in 2017: 2
Record against group opponents: Nadal (0-2); Thiem (7-3); Dimitrov (1-6)
Goffin has been among the most consistent players of the season. The Bulgarian, who is making his second ATP Finals appearance, heads into the tournament in good form after having won titles in Shenzhen, Tokyo in September-October.
Live streaming and TV coverage
Global live streaming: Tennis TV
India: TV: Sony ESPN; Live streaming: Sony Liv
UK: TV: Sky Sports, BBC 2; Live streaming: Sky Go
US: TV: ESPN3; Live streaming: Watch ESPN
Australia: TV: ESPN; Live streaming: Watch ESPN
Japan: TV: NHK Japan
Germany: TV: Sport1
Italy: TV: Sky Italia
France: TV: M6
Bulgaria: TV Plus
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Becker group analysis
Federer
Titles won in 2017: 7
Record against group opponents: Zverev (2-2); Cilic (7-1); Sock (3-0)
36-year-old Federer is making a record 15th appearance in ATP Finals and is eyeing a seventh title. The Swiss great won seven titles this year and is considered clear favourite to progress to the semi-final from his group.
By missing the Paris Masters to recover from a back injury, Federer gave himself enough rest ahead of the year-ender. Despite being drawn in a tough group, he says he is ready to end the season on a good note.
Zverev
Titles won in 2017: 5
Records against group opponents: Federer (2-2); Cilic (3-1); Sock (1-1)
Zverev skipped the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan to be with the big boys in London for the first time in his career. Having beaten the likes of Federer and Djokovic in the finals of Montreal and Rome, respectively, the 20-year-old German is favourite to join the Swiss great into the semi-final round.
Cilic
Titles won in 2017: 1
Record against group-mates: Federer (1-7); Zverev (1-3); Sock (0-2)
Cilic will be making his third appearance at the year-ending tournament in London. The 29-year-old reached the final of Wimbledon and has been in fine form in the run-up to ATP Finals. However, he needs to be at his best if he is to avoid another heartbreak and progress past the group stages.
Sock
Titles won in 2017: 3
Record against group opponents: Federer (0-3); Zverev (1-1), Cilic (2-0)
Sock became the last men's singles player to qualify for ATP Finals after he won the Paris Masters earlier this month. Having broken into the top-10 for the first time in his career, the American will be determined to give the group favourites a run for their money.
Schedule of matches on Sunday (November 12)
- Federer vs Sock - 2pm local time, 6:30pm IST
- Zverev vs Cilic - 8pm local time, 12:30am IST (Monday)
Schedule of matches on Monday (November 13)
- Thiem vs Dimitrov - 2pm local time, 6:30pm IST
- Nadal vs Goffin - 8pm local time, 12:30am IST (Tuesday)
