London Sunday Diary: Thierry's Seal Of Approval

© ATPDavid Ferrer stepped off the boat at The O2 around 11am in a blanket of fog.

Each day during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals we’ll take a look at the happenings on and off the court at the season finale.

Full House
The 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals began with a bang Sunday, with a total of 35,000 people watching the afternoon and evening sessions. A full house of 17,500 watched the afternoon session, highlighted by Roger Federer’s three-set win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and another full house witnessed Rafael Nadal and Mardy Fish battle into a third-set tie-break. With Sunday’s two doubles matches also going the distance, including Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski’s 11-9 Match tie-break win over Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor, London fans certainly got their money’s worth.

Several celebrities were among the fans in attendance on Day 1, including football players Thierry Henry and Andrei Arshavin, Bollywood actress Archana Puran Singh and Bollywood film director Parmeet Sethi. Roger Federer, who received a visit from Henry following his match, said he thought the retired footballer approved of his performance. "He wasn't crying when I came into the locker room," the Swiss said with a smile. "We're good friends. He's just happy to come and see me play once in a while. We missed each other in New York even though we were both there, so it was nice again to catch up with him."

Court Speed
Although both singles matches lasted three sets Sunday, Nadal and Fish toiled for 2 hrs., 55 mins, just a tick under twice as long as Federer and Tsonga, who needed just 1 hr., 28 mins to find resolution. "The third set was a little bit more crazy, up and down, but I felt very bad from the stomach since the beginning of the third," admitted Nadal. "I was seriously really lucky for the victory, and I for sure am very happy."

Federer, who will go head-to-head with the Spaniard on Tuesday, shared similar feelings of relief. "It's not always in your control when you play Jo. That's the beauty of it. I kind of enjoy that to some degree. But I think also partially because it was a first-round match, I think that's maybe why we saw some ups and downs from both players. But that's kind of normal. That's why I'm actually pretty happy that I was able to come through today."

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Sit Back, Relax
One of the unique elements of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the way players travel to the site each day. The conventional means of transport at tournaments is by courtesy car or shuttle buses. At this event, players board a boat near the London Eye and cruise along the Thames to The O2. This year players have enjoyed faster boats, cutting the travel time to about 20 to 25 minutes each way. But that was all for naught Sunday when a thick fog blanketed London and severely cut visibility on the river. Players and their entourages had extra time to chill out on their morning ride as the captain was restricted to a very tame speed.

Federer Praises Finals Venue
Federer, playing at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for a 10th straight year, told reporters how much he enjoyed competing at The O2, following his Group B round-robin win against Tsonga.

"[The O2] is very nice. It's electrifying, it's entertainment. I feel like it's an arena where you'll be proud one day to have played here. I've really enjoyed my time all these years at The O2.

"I'm very experienced when it comes to round robin play here at the [Barclays ATP] World Tour Finals. It definitely has a different feel to it, because you do know you're going to be here regardless, and that in a way, it feels like you have a safety net, but you actually don't. It can be misleading. I know how to handle it mentally and the whole deal."

Murray vs Ferrer, Part II At The O2
Andy Murray and David Ferrer will face off in round robin action for a second straight year at The O2. While Murray handily dismissed the Spaniard last year, conceding just four games, former British No. 1 Tim Henman expected a more competitive match Monday afternoon.

"It looks like the court is very, very slow and you've got to work mightily hard for your points out there. That definitely helps Ferrer," Henman told the BBC. "The Spaniard is such a good mover, he's so consistent from the baseline and Murray is going to have to play an excellent match to come through. Given his present form, I think Murray will do it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it goes the distance."

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Evasive Action For Qureshi
Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi was forced to take evasive action Sunday, when partnering Rohan Bopanna, in their Group B doubles match against Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor.

The Pakistani hurdled the court perimeter in his efforts to chase down a ball during the Match tie-break, forcing Bopanna to cover until he returned. Bopanna did his bit, ripping a backhand crosscourt winner past Nestor. Qureshi rushed to the net in celebration, but Mirnyi and Nestor were left smiling at the end as 7-6(2), 4-6, 11-9 victors.

Tweet Of The Day
@djokernole: Here are some photos from Chelsea-Liverpool game.It was a lot of fun,and thanx to Chelsea football club for making that happen!Got some good energy from the stadium,and now up for some tennis tomorrow night :-) I hope for your support in 02 Arena.