Stan Wawrinka has qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the second year in a row. Following the release of the draws for next week’s events in Stockholm, Vienna and Moscow, the Swiss is now assured of his place among the elite eight at the season finale. Wawrinka is the fourth player to qualify and will join Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the elite eight-man field at the prestigious event, to be held at The O2 in London from 9-16 November.
Having reached the semi-finals on his debut in London last year, Wawrinka built on the experience to post a career-best campaign in 2014. The Swiss won his first Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open in January, beating Djokovic in five sets in the quarter-finals and Nadal in the final. Three months later, he triumphed over Federer in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters to earn his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. He also won the Aircel Chennai Open in India in the first week of the 2014 ATP World Tour season.
“I’m extremely happy to be back in London,” said Wawrinka. “It was my dream and goal to qualify again this year after the great experience in 2013. It’s only my second time at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and being part of this great event remains a childhood dream for me. The atmosphere in London is one of a kind and it means a lot to me to be there together with the very best players of the world.”
Just three weeks remain in the regular ATP World Tour season, with valuable points to be earned at three ATP World Tour 250s in Moscow, Stockholm and Vienna next week, and then at the 500s in Basel and Valencia before the final event of the regular season, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Paris. Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, David Ferrer, Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov are some of the players in the hunt for the last four spots.
As the only not-yet-qualified Grand Slam champion, US Open winner Cilic will automatically earn the fifth spot next week, unless Berdych wins the Stockholm title or Raonic lifts the trophy in Moscow. The Croat is competing alongside Raonic in Moscow. Nishikori is not in action next week, but Ferrer and Murray are both looking to add valuable points as wild cards and the top two seeds in Vienna, while Dimitrov is the defending champion in Stockholm.
The doubles field confirmed two more teams, leaving four places remaining. Last year’s semi-finalists Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares qualified for the second season in a row, while Roland Garros champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin will make their debut. They will join Bob and Mike Bryan and Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic at The O2.
Tickets to the tournament can be purchased at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.
