FRENCH TENNIS STAR GAEL MONFILS TO MAKE DEBUT AT BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

Written by: Staff on 28th October 2016

FRENCH TENNIS STAR GAEL MONFILS TO MAKE DEBUT AT BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS |

@Gael_Monfils is 6th to qualify for Barclays #ATP World Tour Finals, will make #ATPFinals debut @TheO2 next month! – Photo by @ATPWorldTour via Twitter.

27 October 2016

MONFILS TO MAKE DEBUT AT BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

LONDON – Gael Monfils will make his debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after becoming the sixth player to qualify for the prestigious season-ending tournament, to be held from 13-20 November at The O2 in London.

The Frenchman joins Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori in the elite field, securing his berth following Dominic Thiem’s loss today at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna. Thiem is looking to join Monfils as debutants at the prestigious season finale and currently sits in the eighth position in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

“It feels great to qualify for the (Barclays) ATP (World Tour) Finals for the first time in my career,” said Monfils. “It is a great way to finish my best season on the tour and I look forward to competing against the other best players of 2016. I heard a lot of great things about the event, every match is like a final and I always love to play on a big stage.”

It has been a career-best season for the 30-year-old Monfils. He opened his campaign with a quarter-final showing at the Australian Open (l. to Raonic) and finished runner-up at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam the following month (l. to Klizan). Back-to-back quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Sony Open in Miami then preceded a run to the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final (l. to Nadal).

Injury forced Monfils to miss Roland Garros, but the right-hander returned to top form over the summer, winning the biggest title of his career at the Citi Open in Washington (d. Karlovic) before reaching the semi-finals at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the US Open, both times falling to Djokovic. Earlier this month, he reached the semi-finals at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2016 in Tokyo (l. to Kyrgios).

Gael Monfils of France returns the ball to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia during their men’s quarter final match of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 07 October 2016. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA

Gael Monfils of France in action against Nick Kyrgios of Australia during the men’s singles semifinal match at the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 08 October 2016. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA

Two singles and two doubles spots remain up for grabs with less than two weeks remaining in the regular ATP World Tour season. Earlier today, Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram clinched their place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the first time. The South African-American duo will join Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, and Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the English capital.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has welcomed more than 1.8 million fans to The O2 arena over the past seven years, establishing itself as the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. A record 102 million broadcast viewers also tuned in across the eight days of competition in 2015. The ATP announced last year that the event would remain at The O2 through to 2018. Tickets can still be purchased

Emirates ATP Race to London – Top 10 (as of end of play Wednesday, 26 October 2016)

Singles
Pos.	Name	YTD Points
1.	N. Djokovic (SRB)	10,600
2.	A. Murray (GBR)	9,730
3.	S. Wawrinka (SUI)	5,060
4.	M. Raonic (CAN)	4,690
5.	K. Nishikori (JPN)	4,405
6.	G. Monfils (FRA)	3,625
7.	R. Nadal (ESP)	3,300
8.	D. Thiem (AUT)	3,205
9.	T. Berdych (CZE)	2,880
10.	D. Goffin (BEL)	2,690

Emirates ATP Doubles Team Race to London – Top 10 (as of end of play Wednesday, 26 October 2016)

Doubles
Pos.	Name	YTD Points
1.	P. Herbert (FRA) / N. Mahut (FRA)	7,225
2.	J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA)	7,160
3.	B. Bryan (USA) / M. Bryan (USA)	6,160
4.	F. Lopez (ESP) / M. Lopez (ESP)	4,260
5.	I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA)	4,130
6.	R. Klaasen (RSA) / R. Ram (USA)	3,690
7.	H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS)	3,310
8.	T. Huey (PHI) / M. Mirnyi (BLR)	3,155
9.	J. Rojer (NED) / H. Tecau (ROU)	2,770
10.	J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL)	2,570

Green denotes qualification

About the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the year-end climax to the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams as they battle it out for the last title of the season. Players compete for Emirates ATP Rankings points throughout the season in a bid to earn one of the eight coveted berths and a chance to win the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world. Played using a round-robin format, each player plays three matches as they compete for a berth in the knockout semi-finals and beyond. The prestigious tournament has been contested in major cities around the world with a rich history dating back to the birth of The Masters in 1970 in Tokyo. Since 2000 the event has taken place in cities such as Lisbon, Sydney, and Shanghai. In 2009 the tournament was moved to London, where it will be played through 2018. For more information, please visit www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.

Topics: 02 Arena, 10sballs, ATP World Tour Finals, Gael Monfils, London tennis, Tennis News