Old guard still rule the roost
Two men will make their debuts at the ATP Finals in London this week – but the wait for the next generation goes on.
Five of the eight men who will do battle in the season-ending event at the O2 Arena are over 30, with only 21-year-old Alexander Zverev and 25-yearold Dominic Thiem, both of whom qualified last year, representing the younger players on tour.
The two debutants, 33-yearold John Isner and 32-year-old Kevin Anderson, are among the five oldest first-timers in the history of the tournament and the oldest since its infancy in the early 1970s.
For both, whose average height is 6ft 9in, the achievement is reward for careers spent trying to wring every last drop out of their talent.
They shared the stage for one of the most memorable matches of the season when Anderson defeated Isner 26-24 in the fifth set of a six-hourplus semi-final that directly led to Wimbledon announcing the introduction of final-set tie-breaks.
Anderson, the first South African to qualify for the tournament since Wayne Ferreira 23 years ago, did not make his first Grand Slam quarter-final until 2015 and has now reached two finals in as many seasons.
He is determined to soak up the whole experience, saying: “I’ve been watching this tournament since I was a little kid. I’ve been close a couple of times. It’s something that’s very important to me.
“It’s important for me to enjoy being here too. The main priority is the tennis, but as I arrived here a week before the start, it’s important for me to train and then be able to switch off and do something else – visiting attractions. It’s been an enjoyable few days so far, not just for me but also my team.” Meanwhile, Dunblane’s Jamie Murray and Brazilian Bruno Soares face old rivals Raven Klaasen and Mike Venus in their opening group match at the Finals today.
Murray and Soares lost to the South African and the New Zealander in the Wimbledon quarter-finals but beat them in the semis on their way to the Washington DC title in August. The Scot and Soares are seeded four this week after winning two other tournaments in 2018, but their recent form has been poor following back-to-back last 16 defeats in Vienna and Paris.