Tennis Finals- the World Tour Finals in London

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will begin in London , on Sunday.
The top eight performers of the year will fight for the title in the English capital.
At the end of the week we'll know whether Swiss maestro Roger Federer can defend his number one spot from clay court specialist Rafael Nadal.
Although the two rivals are seeded first and second at this tournament, looking back at the form of every of the eight contenders , you'll probably have to fancy Serbia's Nole Djokovic to win the title after he has won two straight going into the final showdown in London.
Here's how the groups were shaped ahead of Sunday's opening game.
Roger Federer has to face local favorite Andy Murray in Group A. He's expected to draw revenge for the lost US Open final against Del Potro, as the two titans will meet again . To round up the group Spaniard Fernando Verdasco will look for an upset that will enable him to reach the semifinals of the tournament.

Group B will likely favor Djokovic and Nadal to advance, but Russian Davydenko and Swedish hope Robin Soderling who beat Nadal at the French Open, will give the top favorites a run for their money.

Below there's a review of the most important moments featured in the last event prior to the finals in London.
The Masters in France which eventually were won by in-form Novak Djokovic.

The BNP Paribas Masters, in France had three attractions to display last week, as Swiss world number one Roger Federer was upset in the opening round by Frenchman Julien Benneteau , Spaniard Rafael Nadal pulled out a hard fought victory against fellow countryman Nicolas Almagro and Russian former world number one , Marat Safin played his final match of his illustrious career as he bowed out to US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro.
All this encounters had one thing in common , they were all decided by a third set.
The big upset of the day came after Federer seemed in control of his match against Benneteau especially with the first set under his belt. But maybe the missed chances he had in the US Open final against Del Potro and the final home defeat against Novak Djokovic at Basel last week , overwhelmed him as he lost his composure in the decinding set , not being able to convert any of his break chances and eventually falling 6-3 6-7 4-6 to the local favorite.

Roger's loss opened the door for Rafa Nadal who crawled to victory against clay court specialist Almagro in a three hour and 15 minutes thriller. It was one of those games Nadal should've lost , being dominated throughout the first two sets by his Davis Cup teammate . But Almagro seemed to be scared of winning as he failed to close the match in straight sets , not being able to take advantage of any of the 5 match points he had in the second set.
The battle went to a third set in which Almagro was up 5-3 before he was hampered by muscle cramps which allowed Nadal to win 4 consecutive games and seal the encounter 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 .

Federer's first round exit also kept Nadal's hopes alive, of regaining the world number one spot if he wins the season finale in London which will begin on 22nd November.

Argentine world number five , Juan Martin del Potro put an end to Marat Safin's career as he downed the Russian in three hard fought sets. Safin displayed his warrior mentality yet again as he managed to push the Argentine to the limit but in the end it wasn't enough. Throughout the match Marat showcased some flashes of brilliance that were reminiscent of the two majors he's won during his successful playing time .

After the game a clearly emotional Safin said he was pleased that he could retire while still on top of his game , being able to keep pace with the current tennis elite.

His fans will miss him on the court due to his brilliant skills but also his inconsistency and fiery temper which always made any match he's been involved in , a joy to watch!