Fish Relishing Finals Opportunity

© Getty ImagesMardy Fish has been drawn in Group B on his debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals debutant Mardy Fish declared he feels "zero pressure" going into the season finale, which begins on Sunday 20th November at London’s O2 Arena. The American No. 1 has been drawn alongside Rafael Nadal, defending champion Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Group B.

Excited, not fazed, by the calibre of opponent he will face in the tournament’s round-robin format, Fish believes he has as good a chance as any of his rivals of advancing to the semi-finals and beyond. "I’m sort of taking the approach of being excited to be a part of this thing," said the American. "Obviously, there are no ‘gimmes’. Roger’s won the tournament five times; he’s won more times than I can even imagine getting in. So there’s zero pressure playing anyone.

"There are good match-ups around the board for some guys. Some of these top guys you play better than others. I’ve had good results against Top 10 players, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities to get to the semis and beyond for me. I feel like that and I’m sure everybody will feel like that going in. These guys are all the best of the best; anyone can beat anyone at this event."

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2011 Group Standings

The 29-year-old Fish earned his place in the elite eight-player season finale after compiling a career-best year. He won his sixth ATP World Tour title at the Atlanta Tennis Championships (d. Isner), reached the finals at the Rogers Cup in Montreal (l. to Djokovic) and the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles (l. to Gulbis), and was a Wimbledon quarter-finalist (l. to Nadal) for the first time.

Fish will taste the unique atmosphere at the O2 for the first time on Sunday night when he steps out in front of 17,000 fans to face last year’s runner-up Nadal. It’s a match-up in which the American feels he can fare well.

"I feel like I match up better against Rafa than I do against Novak. I beat Rafa in Cincinnati for the first time and actually played him pretty good in Tokyo as well," said Fish, who snapped a six-match losing streak against the Spaniard when he beat him in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open.

Considering his other match-ups in Group B, the right-hander commented, "Roger can blow anybody off the court anytime he wants and he’s easily playing the best of anyone right now. I’m obviously looking forward to playing Jo again; we’ve only played that one time at the US Open [fourth round], a really good five-set match, so I look forward to getting back on the court. I love playing against him; I love his style of play. We both like to attack and serve big and come up to the net quite a lot, so it should be fun."

The only first-timer in the singles field in London, Fish insisted that come what may, he is just keen to enjoy the experience of playing at the world’s biggest indoor tennis tournament.

"I’ve picked everyone’s brain that has played this event," he said. "Obviously I spoke to Andy [Roddick] quite a bit about the World Tour Finals last year here in London and everyone just speaks so highly about it; it just seems like such a cool thing. So I’m obviously just staying in the moment and just looking forward to playing."