A long and gruelling tennis season comes to an end this week, as the top eight players of the year meet in London’s O2 Arena for what many consider to be the unofficial fifth grandslam. The newly renamed ATP World Tour Finals is to be held in the UK for the first time in its history, with Andy Murray vying to become the first British champion in the competition’s 39 years

He will have to come through a difficult group to do so, however, with only the top two in each of the two groups going through to compete in the semi-finals. He will face world number 1 Roger Federer, US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro and the man who knocked him out of the Australian Open, Fernando Verdasco.

Murray will still fancy his chances, after another consistent season that saw him peak with a number two ranking in August, becoming the first Brit to do so in the modern era. A wrist injury has seen him lose points and slip back to world number 4, but victory on his comeback at the Valencia 500 was a huge boost, only to be ejected from last week’s Paris Masters 1000 early on. Murray declared that his preparation for the ATP World Tour Finals was good, and that his wrist was not giving him any trouble.

To advance to the semis, Murray will most likely have to defeat either Roger Federer or Juan Martin Del Potro in his group. Federer will be looking to equal yet another record, and become only the third man, after Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras, to win five end-of-season finals.

This year has been kind to Federer, after a combination of a loss of form and damaging knee problems for Rafael Nadal saw him collect his first Rolland Garros title and regain the Wimbledon title for the sixth time, returning to the top of the rankings in the process. The familiar confidence and unshakeable swagger has returned to Federer’s game, and he appears to feel unbeatable going in to games again.

Another man who appears to have an air of invincibility is Del Potro, whose year has seen him firmly established as one of the players to avoid. His flat, accurate, hard-hitting style has made him a difficult opponent to combat, as Federer found out in the US Open, where Del Potro won his maiden grandslam.

Rounding off group one is Fernando Verdasco. On his day the Spaniard can upset the very best, but will probably be making up the numbers in this group, as it is entirely likely that the experience and class of the other three will prove too much.

Group two pits Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Soderling and last year’s winner, Novak Djokovic.

Nadal’s drop in form and lack of ruthlessness has been well documented since his knee injury has left him half a yard slower and less eager to chase down every ball. His power and, most of all, his determination, have not diminished, and he should not be overlooked in the tournament, despite the demolition at the hands of Djokovic in the Paris Masters 1000.

Davydenko and Soderling are both dangerous players; Davydenko favouring technically constructed points, winning points with wicked angles, whilst Soderling is a simply a big-hitting Swede. Soderling is enjoying his most successful season yet, with the highlight of the year coming when he knocked Nadal out in the French Open fourth round, inflicting the Spaniard’s first defeat at Rolland Garros in an astonishing 31 games.

However, the big test to Nadal in the group comes from pre-tournament favourite and current champion, Novak Djokovic, who is looking to become only the eighth man to win back-to-back titles. Before the recent Paris Masters 1000, Djokovic had gone through 2009 without a Masters title to his name, despite a consistent season. If he can emulate his form from that tournament, where he was hitting every forehand with conviction, precision and power, then there will be only be one winner of this group.

Murray will be looking back to last year for inspiration, where he dispatched Federer in the group stage and asserted himself as possibly the best hard-court player on the tour. However, Del Potro’s emergence has been no less impressive. If a top two from this group can be predicted, then it may be Del Potro’s recent injury that allows Murray and Federer to progress. Group two should be a stuck-on eventuality that sees Nadal and Djokovic progress with ease. It is easy to see why Djokovic holds the favourite tag, as the only one not recently nursing an injury, and looking sharper than he has all year, but for me, Rafael Nadal will be looking to this tournament as his opportunity to reassert himself as the best in the world. If he manages to step up his game, he has more potential than the rest to improve, and a confident display here could see 2010 being Rafael Nadal’s year.