Davydenko, Two Doubles Teams Qualify For Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

© Getty ImagesNikolay Davydenko finished runner-up at the season finale last year.

Top Russian qualifies for prestigious circuit finale for fifth straight year
Four contenders left to battle for last remaining singles spot
Cermak/Mertinak, Mirnyi/Ram secure first team participation in doubles

London, United Kingdom – Russian Nikolay Davydenko has become the seventh player to secure a place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, leaving one spot available to four contenders in the final week of the regular ATP World Tour season.  World No. 7 Davydenko will join Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Roddick at The O2 in London from 22-29 November.

The 28-year-old Davydenko, who finished runner-up to Djokovic at the season climax in Shanghai last year, has clinched a berth at the elite eight-man event for the fifth straight year despite losing to fellow contender Robin Soderling of Sweden on Thursday in BNP Paribas Masters third round, at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Paris. Davydenko qualified after No. 8-ranked Fernando Verdasco lost to Marin Cilic in the third round. Robin Soderling, Fernando Gonzalez and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will now battle to clinch the last remaining singles berth this week, as Verdasco faces an anxious wait to learn his fate.

"My goal at the start of the season was to finish in the Top 10, so I am very happy to have achieved that but also to have qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals,” said Davydenko.  “I have some good memories from playing in Shanghai over the past four years, including last year’s final, so I am looking forward to playing in London for the first time."

Davydenko has compiled a 54-15 match record on the 2009 season, despite missing three months of the year due to a left heel injury.  The Volgograd resident has captured four ATP World Tour titles this year at the International German Open in Hamburg (d. Mathieu), the ATP Studena Croatia Open in Umag (d. Ferrero), the Proton Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2009 (d. Verdasco) and his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 (d. Nadal).

Just one doubles berth at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals remains up for grabs after Frantisek Cermak and Michael Mertinak, the winners of five ATP World Tour titles this year, and Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram both qualified after Wednesday's play at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.

Cermak and Mertinak secured their participation for the first time after advancing to the quarter-finals and after seeing fellow contenders Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman suffer an opening-round loss in Paris. The loss of Moodie and Norman also resulted in Mirnyi and Ram qualifying, as the team now can finish no lower than eighth position in the year-to-date 2009 ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

Over 250,000 tickets have been sold and only a limited number of tickets remain. The O2 is set to be a fantastic host for the eight-day singles and doubles tournament. Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster or by calling 0844 847 2495 within the UK. Overseas customers should call +44 161 372 0025. For more information please visit www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.