An Insider's Look At The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

© Robert DavisRohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi prepare to board the Eurostar from Paris to London.

Robert Davis, coach of ‘The Indo-Pak Express’ Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, gives an insider’s perspective of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Choosing one thing that makes the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals special is a tough task. Probably because there are so many little things that make this tournament unique. In addition to the VIP treatment from the hotel, to cruising up and down the River Thames on a ferry that transports us to the O2 Arena, to the players receiving tailored suits for the Gala Night, this is a tennis tournament like no other. However, if I had to choose one thing that stands out, it is the fact that for the only time in the year, you are among the best of the best; a unique club where only the top eight singles players and doubles teams are invited to participate in the final tennis tournament of the year.

While most players went home for a few days, we didn’t have that luxury; we came straight from the BNP Paribas Masters tournament in Paris on the Eurostar. The boys took a couple of days off, then Novak Djokovic asked Rohan if he could hit and Andy Murray called to see if Aisam could practise. It is always great to practise with the top singles players, and it definitely improves our ball striking and doubles play.

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We practised at The Queen’s Club on two courts that had been prepared for the players as The O2 was still being set up. The members of The Queen’s Club are sticklers for tradition and they still adhere to strict dress codes of all white for play. Here at the ATP World Tour 250 event during the grass-court season, member applause is usually a light tapping of two fingers into a palm as they looked down their noses from stiff backed wooden seats. However, today they were watching from the balcony and nearly spilling over the rails onto Court 8 with excitement as Roger Federer practised with David Ferrer. Even in a Grand Slam final, Roger is pretty relaxed, but watching him on an indoor court during a practice set is like watching a magician pull rabbits out of hat. It is one trick shot after another. Even I had a tough time focusing on my court as I could not stop glancing over to see what shot Roger would play next.

Mardy Fish came to practise with his coach David Nainkin. ‘Nainks’ had a big box of balls and he put Mardy through his paces for about an hour and a half, then Mardy and his fitness coach did sprints and agility drills for twenty minutes. Make no mistake, every player here at the Finals is locked in and switched on. 

For the players, coaches and guests, breakfast is served in a private room called The Library. And it looks just like that. Shelves of leather bound classics fill the room while marble busts of Greek and Roman gods stare down at us. Yesterday, Rafael Nadal walked in and went from table to table greeting all of the players and their guests before he sat down and whipped out the Nutella and had his breakfast. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes came in straight from their Mumbai-to-London flight, while Jurgen Melzer is fresh from a trip to the Maldives where he had already started his pre-season fitness and physiotherapy treatments. One by one the players stroll in, slap hands and smile. Whatever it is, there is definitely a synergy in the air for this tournament.

For the various clothes manufacturers, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is a great time to showcase new designs. The hotel concierge is getting in good shape by delivering case after case of clothes that have been sent to each player. Aisam and Rohan received specially designed ‘The Indo-Pak Express’ outfits with their mantra, “Stop War, Start Tennis” on the back of the track suit and logo on the heels of the shoes.

In Paris at the BNP Paribas Masters, players were measured and fitted for suits to be worn on Thursday night for the Gala Dinner. During the afternoon players were given instructions about the procedure for walking the red carpet and so forth and there was almost an Oscar-night buzz in the Players’ Lounge on-site.

Now it is time to go back to the hotel and we all pile into a bus for the short ride to the pier where a ferry is waiting to whisk us to the up the River Thames to the hotel. It only takes about twenty minutes, but it is kind of symbolic as it is a unique form of transport for a special event like no other.