The ATP World Tour Finals are the latest incarnation of what was The Masters, a tournament for men first played in 1970 and the climax to a circuit which offered points to players on the basis of results. In most years, the top eight performers in singles have been eligible to compete and, with occasional exceptions, there has been a competition for the leading doubles teams as well.
Generally, the tournament has been conducted using a round robin format. For the singles, this has usually meant two groups of four, with the winner of one playing the runner-up of the other in the semi-finals. 'The advantage to incorporating a round robin section is that spectators get to see the best, whichever day they have tickets for,' announced the official programme in 2009.
Not Trying to Win
Others are less sure as the system can leave a player knowing his fate before the final round of group matches, leading to less than 100% commitment, and may even invite him to lose on purpose, the prize being a more favourable draw in the semi-finals. In 1977, when already through, Guillermo Vilas and Bjorn Borg each failed to appear for their final group matches, while in 1980, World of Tennis reported that 'three of the four matches on the third day resulted in bloodless victories against players who were clearly not trying to win.'
From 1982 to 1985, misgivings about the format led to its abeyance, and either 12 players (with four given byes) or 16 engaged in a knockout tournament. However, the diluted quality resulting from the extra numbers led to criticism and was something with which the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC), who had recently acquired the tournament, seemed to agree. For 1986, they restored the traditional format, though under their stewardship, group runners-up were drawn by lot against group winners.
ATP Tour World Championship
The influence of the MIPTC, which ran men's tennis, soon disappeared however, as in 1988, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the players' union, announced its own circuit, running from 1990 and concluding with its own version of The Masters, the ATP Tour World Championship. The singles competition was located to Germany - The Masters had spent the last 13 years in New York - and the doubles event, following a recent precedent, was allocated to a separate venue.
While keeping the basic format of The Masters, ATP also innovated. Ranking points were awarded, something unpopular among the rank-and-file as it helped cement the position of the top eight; and if a player pulled out, an alternative was allowed to take his place, a rule brought in amid some cynicism just before the 1994 event. 'A lot of suspicious minds came to the conclusion that the month-old rule owed itself solely to a belief that (Michael) Stich - popular with German TV moguls - might well end up as next man in,' wrote Mike Dickson, 'which he did.'
Tennis Masters Cup
Meanwhile, the Grand Slam Committee (the chairmen of the four majors) launched their own end-of-year extravaganza, the Grand Slam Cup. But, while 'not designed to undermine' the ATP event, as they put it, the existence of two such tournaments found little favour with critics. 'The problem of staging two major competitions at the tail end of the calendar...with both the ATP Tour World Championship and the Grand Slam Cup having depleted fields,' wrote Barry Flatman, 'suggests an amalgamation can only be good for the game.'
In the event, that is what happened, the Tennis Masters Cup emerging in 2000. In 2003, the doubles became reunited with the singles, and in 2009, the competition was renamed as the ATP World Tour Finals when taking up residence at the O2 Arena in London.
Jewel in the Crown?
Whether the tournament should be associated with a single venue is disputed. It is argued that it should reflect the circuit it represents with a different venue and surface each year. It is also said that the round robin system, widely held as discredited as far back as the 1970s, should give way to a knockout format with each match the best of five sets, a formula successfully employed for the finals of the World Championship Tennis circuit in the 70s and 80s.
Writing in World of Tennis, John Barrett once said The Masters 'should be the jewel in the crown of men's tennis,' but thought the event's credibility undermined by decisions regarding venue, surface, format and even timing - the tournaments of 1977 to 1985 all took place in January of the following year. Others added to the dissention. People seem to agree that having The Masters or ATP World Tour FInals, or whatever you want to call it, is a good idea, but they disagree on how to organise it.
Andrew Hunt - My first paid article appeared in 1990, this and a number of others being under the pseudonym Steven Rennard. All told, I have contributed ...
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