Wawrinka and Gasquet Lock Up Final Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Spots
October 31, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal
The eight-player singles field for the 2013 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals was set Thursday, as Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet have clinched the final two berths following Milos Raonic’s third-round loss to Tomas Berdych at the BNP Paribas Masters. Wawrinka and Gasquet join Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer next week at The O2 Arena in London. Andy Murray also qualified, but was forced to withdraw after undergoing back surgery.
Wawrinka will be making his Barclays ATP World Tour Finals debut. Coupled with Federer’s qualification, it marks the first time that two Swiss players will be competing at the season finale. Gasquet will make his second appearance, having also qualified six years ago in Shanghai.
Wawrinka is one victory from securing his 50th match win of the season, having won his fourth ATP World Tour title at the Portugal Open, reached the final of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid and advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal at the U.S. Open. Gasquet is also on the verge of his 50th win, having captured three ATP World Tour titles in a year for the first time since 2006, having won titles in Doha, Montpellier and Moscow, as well as reaching his first major semifinal since 2007 at the U.S. Open in September.
