ATP World Tour Finals - Who's Who

Next month see's the flagship end to the Tennis season with the Barclays ATP Tour Finals taking place at London's 02 Arena. This is the fourth successive year that the event will take place here after being renamed the Tour Finals, as it was called the 'Tennis Masters Cup' between 2000 and 2008 and did not have a stationary venue.

Roger Federer has won the event six times in the past nine years and already holds the record for the most wins of this illustrious end of year event and will be going for a third straight victory on November 5th, when the competition begins.

The Undisputed Champion of the ATP Finals

At the time of writing, only four competitors are confirmed to be playing in the event and no surprises that they are Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

These guys have been at the top of their individual games for the past couple of years and it has gone to show, especially this season, with all four winning one Grand Slam each although Murray won the Olympic Gold Medal and this spurred him on to his maiden victory in the US Open in a thrilling five set encounter against fellow competitor, Djokovic.

Now, if I was a betting man, which I sometimes am, I would not be putting money on any other competitors, except these four. Although since Wimbledon this year, Nadal has been suffering from a knee injury that has saw him drop to number four in the World Rankings, and it is still unclear if he will compete in London or not.

Even without Nadal, it is extremely difficult to see who can upset the other three, especially with Federer's outstanding record in the event. Djokovic won it back in 2008, the year before it made the switch to London but Murray has never made the final and I'm pretty sure he would like to remedy this and show exactly why he is number three in the world.

When it comes to who will be the other four opponents, it is very difficult to see who will play the best in the lead up to the Finals next month. One man who I'm pretty sure will make the grade will be David Ferrer. He has had an excellent 2012 which has saw him have his best tournament at three out of the four Grand Slams, and has reached at least the quarter-final stage in each of them in the last two years. He will be a threat and with it being an indoor event, especially on a hard court, will suit his style of play and he'll be hoping he will go one step further than he managed to do in 2007 when he lost in the final to Roger Federer in straight sets.

Ferrer - Dark Horse? 

Next up, another man who had a successful 2012 is Tomas Berdych. He reached two Grand Slam semi-finals and reached the semis at the Tour Finals last year. The former Wimbledon finalist likes to compete in this competition and should qualify after this week's Shanghai Masters.

There are two final places that are really up for grabs and it will no doubt go down to the wire of the Paris Masters to decide who will make the grade and reach the Tour Finals although it looks like Juan Martin del Potro will reach the end of year tournament for the first time since 2009 and the 2009 US Open Champion will be looking to cement his place back in tennis' elite after a couple of years hampered with injury.

London's 02 Arena

At the moment, the 8th place is occupied by last years finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He will more than likely be at the tournament again, but mainly due to the unlikeliness of Nadal's inclusion. This obviously opens another place if Nadal decides not to take part and I think this will be fortunate once again for Janko Tipsarevic, who replaced Andy Murray last year after he pulled out after one game with a groin injury.

There you have it, the players I believe will be will feature in the ATP Tour Finals are: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Janko Tipsarevic (who won't be there if Nadal plays, which I doubt) and the two back-up players I think will be Richard Gasquet and an in-form Milos Raonic.

The Finals start in just under a months time and my tip to be victorious for the second time in London; Novak Djokovic.