EVERYONE loves Paris.
Except, it seems, for those who only have eyes for the rich, chic and glamorous London 02. The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has again cast a long shadow over the BNP Paribas Masters in the French capital.
Roger Federer, the world No.1, and Andy Murray, No.3, will be talking to the press at the 02 Arena this afternoon rather than sweating on the courts in Paris. The precise whereabouts of Novak Djokovic, the world No.2, are unknown as he is concerned with the welfare of a sick father, but he left the masters tournament at the earliest stage. Rafael Nadal, world No.3, did not play in Paris because of the knee injury that will keep him sidelined until the end of the year at least.
It means that, for the first time in six years, none of the big four has reached the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000. This is not a sign of the lesser ranks flexing their muscles. It is, rather, the direct consequence of the importance of the tour finals and the significance placed by the best on the biggest tournament outside the four grand slams.
London in November has sometimes resembled a clearing station for casualties of the gruelling tennis tour that starts at a sprint in Australia with the Open in January and then picks up pace.
Djokovic, Nadal and Murray have all travelled to the banks of the Thames in recent years suffering from injury or exhaustion, or both. Last year, though, Federer came in on the back of triumphs in Basel and Paris and then won the title, but he had given the Asian swing a miss. He was thus both relatively fresh and in form.
After defeat in the Basel final this year to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, Federer has decided to rest his 31-year-old legs for an assault on the title he has plundered six times.
The tournament under the dome of the 02 is significant for reasons that go beyond the lavish rewards it bestows from its pot of more than £5m in prize money. This is an event that gives the players £80,000 for turning up and throws money at these millionaires for the rest of the week with the winner of the title taking more than £1m.
Djokovic, Federer and Murray, though, have strong, individual motivations for emerging victorious precisely a week after the tournament begins on Monday. They will have played five matches against the best players in the world to achieve that goal, so their shared desire to have a break before the tournament starts is understandable. Their need to win is deeply personal, however.
This is a season where four different players won a grand slam. The agenda for next season will be set in London. Djokovic is keen to re-establish himself as the world No.1, to remake himself as the player who was invincible for so much of 2011.
Federer – raging at the dying of the light though in his elegant, understated manner – wants to restage the rebirth of 2011 when he won in London despite (horror of horrors) not winning a grand slam in the regular season.
It is Murray, though, who has the most intriguing motivation. The Scot has lost three consecutive contests when having match points. He has won only three tour titles this season – a below-par haul for the 25-year-old in terms of numbers – though the US Open trumps everything.
He has admitted he has ruthlessly targeted the majors at the expense of even Masters 1000 tournaments such as Paris. This strategy has paid off with Murray's run at the business end of the grand slams finally hitting the jackpot with victory in New York. This five-set win over Djokovic followed the straight-sets defeat of Federer in the Olympic final.
The Scot once complained that his victories in Masters events were ignored by questions that always included Fred Perry, grand slam, victory, when, if ever. Of course, in his heart he knew that his career would not be complete without a major.
Now he seeks to add to that grand slam and Olympic gold medal with a victory in a home tournament in front of 15,000 fans and against the elite of the world.
He has arrived in London on the back of lapses in focus that would have drawn the most cruel jibes pre-Flushing Meadows 2012. Djokovic, Milos Raonic and the world No.69 Jerzy Janowicz have all recently been spared with victory just one point away.
But London offers Murray the chance to end his most satisfying season with an emphatic statement that his desire for the big prizes is far from sated.
The leading players may have fluffed their lines in Paris, but London offers the promise of a compelling drama.
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