I have attended the ATP World Tour Finals for a number of years, often with friends. I have seen Roger Federer dismiss Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-0 and Andy Murray for the loss of a single game. This year I attended the afternoon sessions on Thursday and Friday, featuring Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka, with three fans.
Arran Hall: My playing partner during our time at Loughborough University. He also served as a ball-boy at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals.
Kieran Coveney: A family friend who has recently expressed interest in playing tennis, and had not attended a live tennis event in years.
Harry Eagles: A first-time attendee of a live tennis event.
- Arran and Kieran accompanied me to the Thursday afternoon session whilst Kieran and Harry joined me for the Friday session.
Kieran, Arran and I reached our seats early in the doubles match between Bryan/Bryan and Huey/Mirnyi. As an American, I supported the Bryans, whilst Arran and I also recalled the singles career Mirnyi years before.
Arran unsurprisingly recalled his unique experiences as a ball-boy in 2010: “I remember my most memorable moment was crouching at the side of the net watching as Andy Roddick broke his racket in frustration during his match with Rafael Nadal”.
Arran also recalled his experiences with ATP Chief Executive Chris Kermode, who at the time was tournament director. “He spent a lot of time with us and was really professional”.
Kieran, in his first visit to the O2 in any capacity noted the size of the venue “I was surprised given how we were sat high up in the upper bowl during the doubles match how easy it was to see the play from such a distance“.
Fortunately for Kieran we were not required to sit in the upper bowl for much longer, as in the interlude between the singles and doubles, a steward came by with a fistful of tickets and asked us if we would appreciate an upgrade to the lower bowl. Of course we gladly accepted, and took our seats in the lower bowl for the match between Novak Djokovic and David Goffin.
- I suspect that our good fortune was down to a number of factors. We had returned to our seats rather quickly after a brief break as a group of three. There were also very few people sat around us at the time making it easier for the steward to discreetly approach us with his offer. Given the late withdrawal of Gael Monfils, and the timing as an afternoon match on a working day in the group that did not feature the home player, I suspect that these were the main reasons for the unusually high number of spectators being offered upgrades. (It is the first time in fifteen visits to the ATP World Tour Finals that I have noticed such an occurrence).
The match itself between Goffin and Djokovic sadly lacked a little drama as a spectacle, Djokovic grabbing early breaks in each set. Both my friends noted the success that Goffin was having against the Djokovic serve, regularly achieving thirty or deuce games, but struggling on his own serve.
Kieran: “If highlights packages were looking for the five most dramatic points, they would be surprised, as Goffin won most of the crowd-pleasing efforts, including a memorable lob off a Djokovic drop-shot, but Djokovic was just too consistent“.
Kieran then accompanied me the next day as Harry joined us for the Mahut/Herbert, Kontinen/Peers doubles on Friday.
Harry could barely contain his excitement as we walked up to the O2. “I’ve wanted to come to this event for years and I haven’t been to the O2 since I was around five or six, so I’m very keen to see how its changed“.
Between the doubles and singles Harry noticed something pertinent. “Alex, you go on about young Americans all the time but when the ATP are acknowledging them there must be something in it”. (This was in reaction to a feature on the screen highlighting an award for Taylor Fritz).
We enjoyed the doubles before Kieran noticed a change in the buildup for the Murray/Wawrinka match. “It wasn’t nearly this dramatic when Djokovic and Goffin walked out yesterday!”
Kieran, with a French background, was particularly amused by the atmosphere, as many vocal fans of Wawrinka shouted “Allez!” mimicking the atmosphere often experienced at Roland Garros.
As the players warmed up, I expressed my opinions on the match to Harry arguing that to truly enjoy a dramatic match comparable to the Murray-Nishikori thriller of a few days previously, we needed Stan to win the first set. Harry was bullish though in his views. “I really want Andy to win” he declared.
Kieran, having watched the Djokovic masterclass the day before was happy to see a more competitive first set than the one we had viewed the day before. “I particularly admire Stan’s one-handed backhand” he said just a few games in as Stan began the match in aggressive fashion.
Harry watching tennis for the first time live at the venue remarked “you really appreciate just how much faster the play is live compared to when watching on the television“.
Murray secured the first set, and the crowd whistled when Wawrinka broke his racket after being broken, with Murray racing through the second.
Despite both singles matches going rather quickly in straight sets, Kieran appears to be more committed to tennis, and impatient to watch more. “Waiting for this event next year is too long, I’ll see you at Wimbledon!”
Harry also summarised his thoughts, noting “It may have gone too quickly for my liking but it was a fantastic day out, some top quality tennis, and I can now tell people I’ve watched the World Number 1 and World Number 3!”
- My thanks to Arran, Harry, and Kieran for sharing their experiences with Ubitennis.
