The growth of men’s tennis globally was encapsulated with the rise of prestige of the ATP World Tour finals tournament, the ATP finals (sometimes known as the Masters Cup) launched in 1970, and spent 12 iconic years in New York City, as the first “golden generation” period saw Ivan Lendl win five singles titles to end the year, and America’s own John McEnroe win three. American Pete Sampras lifted five titles when the ATP Finals were in Germany, before Roger Federer began a run of six ATP Finals victories across three locations, with two titles each in Houston, Shanghai, and London. He was also on the short end of the final five set final in ATP finals history, a five set defeat to punchy Argentine shotmaker David Nalbandian in 2005 in Shanghai, a match that ended on a five set tiebreak.
When the ATP World Tour announced they would move the finals to London, the event began to rise in viewership and prestige, the ATP Masters series, and the Grand Slams have long been considered the cream of the crop when it comes to men’s tennis, offering the most prize money, points, and drawing the most fans on TV and to stadiums around the globe. The ATP Finals has a unique value proposition, as it is the only tournament with a small field that guarantees the best players (fitness permitting) that season will face each other over the course of a week in both singles and doubles. This means whether you buy a ticket to attend in person or watch a stream, you should be guaranteed to see the “best of the best” matchups, matchups that we are often denied in Grand Slams or Masters 1000s because seeding and upsets based on form often means that the most “elite matchups” are denied.
