ATP Tour World Finals: Don’t look gift horse Djokovic in the mouth

In a golden era for men’s tennis which has been characterised by the successes and titanic battles between the so called big four, Novak Djokovic’s dominance has now altered the landscape almost irreversibly heading towards the end of 2015.

If the noughties largely belonged to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the 2010s are fast becoming the property of Djokovic.

The super Serb scooped the last three majors this season and lost in the final of the French, staying as world number one throughout the calendar year.

Djokovic also claimed six of nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments this season, almost doubling the amount of points accrued by his nearest rival on tour, Andy Murray, whom he also just beat in the final of the Paris Masters; his tenth victory over the Scot in 11 matches.

Different Level

The 28-year-old has simply climbed to a different tennis plateau in 2015. While Federer – a winner of six singles titles this season – and Murray just about hang from the Serb’s coattails, the fourth member of the original quartet has flailed badly.

Now replaced by two-time major winner and late bloomer Stanislas Wawrinka in the current pecking order, world number five Nadal has won just three singles tournaments this year before taking his place at London’s O2 for the Tour Finals.

Accumulative injury woes make it difficult to see the patched-up Spaniard returning to the pinnacle of the sport in the near future, certainly not with Djokovic looking virtually untouchable.

Must be backed

All this means that any Ladbrokes customers sizing up the Tour Finals from a betting perspective need not balk at Djokovic’s odds-on favouritism in search of value, and back him with vigour at 8/15 instead.

Like most of his sport’s top arenas, the world number one has made the O2 a second home in recent years, winning the last three straight and four of the last seven in the one-time Millennium Dome.

After the year the Serb has placed in the books, he will be desperate to stamp his authority one last time on the blue courts under the lights, before hanging his racket up for Christmas.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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