Events / Simon Mundie / 26 November 2009 /

Those pining for the quaintness of SW19 make for a disappointed minority as the ATP World Finals in London receives a big thumbs up from players, fans and Simon Mundie.

It must have come as something of a shock to those British people who believed tennis was only played for a month during the summer when the ATP World Tour Finals rolled into town. The world's top eight players, battling it out indoors in a round robin format in the depths of winter? Blimey.

For genuine fans, it's doubly as exciting. Not only do we have the best Grand Slam event, but we now also boast the most prestigious event outside of the majors! It's a shame that our results on court aren't quite as good as our ability to stage great tournaments, but I suppose we shouldn't be getting greedy.

The Finals move from city to city every few years, the previous incumbents being Shanghai; then Houston, Sydney and Lisbon before them. The event was at its peak in my opinion during the 1990s, when it was played in Frankfurt and then Hannover. Boris Becker saved his best tennis for the event, playing in four finals during that decade, and when he was winning the atmosphere was astonishing.

With Andy Murray in action, the atmosphere at the 02 over the next few years could be quite something, although the crowds are unlikely to be as partisan as they were during Becker's pomp. So how has the event fared, particularly in comparison with previous years?

The first thing to say is that commercially, it has been a resounding success. Every seat has been sold for every session- which is quite an achievement and speaks volumes for how much people love to watch live sport in London. Billed as the 'biggest indoor tennis event in history', with 260,000 tickets snapped up, the ATP can be sure that their decision to give the Finals to England's capital has been a wise one.

The atmosphere has been commendably loud. Those who expected the quaint and deferential approach of the All England Club would have been aghast, what with the flashing lights, a CD of The Clash's greatest hits on repeat; not to mention every Hawkeye challenge being accompanied by the loudest heartbeat in tennis.

The finals have benefited from only having one withdrawal through injury, although it's a shame that that one withdrawal was Andy Roddick, who is immensely popular with the London crowd after his Wimbledon heroics.

So, from the spectators perspective it's all well and good, but how about the players? They're certainly making all the right noises. Even Nikolay Davydenko was laying on something approaching charm after he ruined many people's evenings by dumping Rafael Nadal out of the tournament.

Part of the reason the players are so gushing about the event may be down to Wimbledon. SW19 is definitely still the one the players want to win ahead of the other Slams; just ask Rafael Nadal, who believes his 2008 victory to be his greatest achievement. The players know that being loved by the Wimbledon crowds takes time, and is generally reserved for the games' greatest characters; so this week in London could be a perfect opportunity to drum up some PR points in time for next year's Championships. It is unlikely that playing in Shanghai has quite the same effect.

But is the tournament fair to the rest of the tour, what with all that extra prize money (5 million dollars), not to mention ranking points, on offer? Frankly, I think the answer is yes. In terms of exclusivity, if you are outside the top 50, you can't play in the Masters events, so why is the top eight any more discriminatory? Also, any players or tournament bureaucrats who do whine about it should remember that the sport is bigger than any one player, and so having a lucrative and glitzy showcase end to the season is far more important than gripes about fairness. Why? Because having the world's best square off puts bums on seats. Especially when it's held in London.

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