• ATP World Tour Finals

Tennis' grand finale finds its calling in London

Rafael Nadal enters the O2 Arena © Getty Images

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Andy Murray enters the O2 Arena playing the air guitar on his Head racket to the sound of The Clash. Well perhaps not, but as the players emerge from the tunnel swathed in smoke, accompanied by dramatic lighting effects and blaring music, there is a real sense of being at a rock concert in London.

The thought of Roger Federer in London conjures up visions of players in their whites playing on the grass courts at Wimbledon in front of well-dressed fans eating strawberries and cream.

Yet the reality couldn't be more different. Now in its second year in London, the ATP World Tour Finals has really found its identity.

The event is what Twenty20 is to cricket. It is tennis' mouthy younger brother; dancing lights and blaring music fill the breaks between games, and after every ace, the word flashes around the 17,500-seater stadium in LED lights.

"There is nothing else like the O2 Arena," Mike Bryan told ESPN. "We feel like we are rock stars, walking out with a lot of smoke and loud music."

"Everything has its own secret or magical thing - Roland Garros on the clay, then you come to Wimbledon, which is a really special place to be with a lot of tradition," said Tomas Berdych. "Then you come here, a huge indoor arena and there are so many people even in the afternoon sessions.

"With the entertainment it is more like going to the theatre than just watching tennis, which is good. That's what we need."

What else makes the event unique? Only the top eight players are in action and so every match is guaranteed to be a clash of the titans. While some tournaments struggle to sell tickets to the earlier rounds, the first day of action in London threw up the world No. 4 going head-to-head with the world No. 5.

Even on the first day, every match is the equivalent of a grand slam quarter-final. By the Wednesday and Thursday players and fans alike are desperately trying to get their head around the permutations of qualification for the semi-finals - the number of sets won and lost, and percentage of games won.

Unlike a grand slam it means every player gets a second chance, but more importantly the fans are guaranteed to see their favourite players in action at least three times.

The ATP World Tour Finals have been well attended in London © PA Photos

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"It is obviously completely different - it is the only round robin we play in any year," said Andy Roddick. "Being conscious of something inside a match other than a win or a loss makes it a little bit different. I think it makes this tournament unique. I think it's fun for the fans to look at the little draw boards. I think that's the way to do an end-of-year event because it makes it a little bit more unique."

Even in the afternoon sessions, the stadium is packed, with the atmosphere more like a rock concert than a tennis match. And it works, because the tennis fits the venue. While it lacks the history of the All England Club, or the prestige of Roland Garros, the O2 Arena is cool.

It's the fact that it is so different to any other tennis event on the tour that makes it special. It's not something regular tournaments should be trying to emulate.

The O2 could never host a major tournament - despite being in the ideal location for London 2012 the Olympic tennis is - quite rightly - being held at Wimbledon. But with a single showcase court, it is an ideal way to celebrate the season and parade the best players in the world in the end-of-season finale.

From its original creation in Tokyo in 1970, the year-end finals have changed vastly and travelled thousands of miles via Paris, Barcelona, Boston, Melbourne, Stockholm, Houston, New York, Germany and Shanghai, and it arrived last year in its latest incarnation in London.

The event is guaranteed to be held at the O2 until at least 2012, when it is likely to move. But after enjoying the reception on his debut, Berdych would be more than happy to see the event make a permanent home in London.

"The crowd in London is definitely one of the best for tennis," he said. "The umpire doesn't have to say anything during the whole match to ask the crowd to be quiet. That's great for us tennis players, they just step up to the base line and it is so quiet you can hear a pin drop."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.