The eight-player singles field for the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is establish. Japan’s Kei Nishikori makes history by becoming the very first Asian player to meet the requirements for the season finale in singles after he beat David Ferrer in the BNP Paribas Masters quarterfinals today. As an outcome of Nishikori’s success, Milos Raonic, who before beat Roger Federer in the Paris quarterfinals, also qualified for the very first time. Raonic is the first Canadian player to meet the requirements for the season finale in singles. Nishikori and Raonic join two time defending champ and 2008 titlist Novak Djokovic, six-time former winner Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic at The O2 in London from 9-16 November. Spain’s Rafael Nadal also qualified, but was forced to pull away as he can get appendix operation next week.
Get Your Tickets Nishikori broke to the Top of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the very first time on 12 May, becoming the very first Asian player to rank among the elite since Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan on 29 March 2004. Trained by Michael Chang, who qualified for the season finale on seven occasions in his profession, Nishikori overcome three Top 10 players — Raonic, Wawrinka and Djokovic — en route to becoming the very first Asian man to fight a Grand Slam championship final in the US Open (l. to Cilic). Throughout a career-best 2014 campaign, Nishikori has amassed a 52-11 match record and lifted four ATP World Tour prizes in the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships (Memphis), Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo). He also finished runner up in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final at the Mutua Madrid Open. Raonic has become the primary player born in the 1990s to be eligible for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The 23-year old Raonic, that has reached 13 tour-level quarterfinals (or better) in a career-best season, lifted one title in the Citi Open in Washington, where be overcome Vasek Pospisil in the first all-Canadian final in the Open Age. He also finished runner up to Nishikori at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo) and reached two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinals in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (l. to Djokovic) and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (l. to Federer). He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon (l. to Federer). In 2013, Raonic has hit more than 1,000 aces in a season for the second time (also 2012). The 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals doubles field will feature 200304, ‘09 titlists Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, 2008 and 2010 victor Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, this year’s Roland Garros titlists Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, 2012 season finale victor Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, and Australian Open titlists Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt. The Bryans have already clinched the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Position for a record 10th time. The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has welcomed more than 1.25 million supporters to The O2 stadium over the previous five years, establishing itself as the largest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. Tickets are available at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.
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Young Firearms Nishikori, Raonic Entire 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Field
