Open final  None of us expected that either

The Prize: more than you can imagine, unless you can imagine $4,450,000. Each round-robin win is worth $120k, the semis are worth an additional $380k, and the finals are worth $770k Visa and Mastercard accepted. Understatement of the week: "Whoever you draw is going to be tough," Andy Murray said.The Rules: Two Groups of four play one another for the right to make the semis. The Players: Group A: Federer, Murray, Del Potro, VerdascoRoger Federer: Normally the master of the cupcake draw, Mr. Federer will have his hands full with Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro in group A. If that's not enough, Fernando Verdasco will be there to give him a lefty to deal with.

Verdasco vaulted into the top 10 on the strength of his off-season commitment, but to his credit, he remained there in all but one week (10 August) of 2009. While he didn't break through like many who were spellbound by his run to the Semi's in Melbourne, he did manage 52 wins and nearly 1.6 Million in prize money This is the 25-year-old's first ticket to the WTF. Murray , who has been dealing with a wrist issue since the U.S Open, comes in on a sort of high. Murray ran the table at the WTF's last year in the round-robin and then got dusted by a money-hungry Nikolay Davydenko in the semi's But that was Shanghai, this is London. Murray may not be as good at playing the home crowd as Monfils, but he is no stranger to dealing with, and capitalizing on, the energy of a partisan crowd Del Potro is limping in to London. But much to group A's chagrin, Del Potro, even while limping, is a dangerous and worthy opponent. After a physically exhausting and emotionally gratifying dethroning of Roger Federer in the 2009 U.S.

His summer results bring Del Potro's autumn slumber to light: After losing in straight sets to No. 189 ranked Edouard Roger-Vasselin in Tokyo, then retiring to Jurgen Melzer in Shanghai, Del Potro again retired in Paris, after losing handily in the first set to Stepanek last week. Still, the quarterfinal appearance was his best of the fall.It is becoming apparent that Juan Martin may need a bit more of the local Tandil cuisine before he reaches his peak again, but I wouldn't put a miracle past the firebombing 21-year-old Remember the conclusion to the second set in the U.S. Open final None of us expected that either. Group B: Nadal, Djokovic, Davydenko, SoderlingNovak Djokovic is playing like he's found god Or maybe he's found love. Whatever it is that he's found, it certainly isn't hurting his performance on the court, as he ran roughshod over the entire field last week in Paris, securing his tour-leading 76th win and his fifth ATP title of 2009. The Serb seems to be trusting in his nature a little more on the court, and when Djokovic is playing instinctively he can truly dominate his opponents.

He has the hottest hand coming in, and he'll certainly benefit from experience. But last year's champion was able to escape without playing Federer or Nadal that won't happen this year. Rafael Nadal , of all the qualifiers at the WTF's, may have the most to prove. After winning his first and only hardcourt Slam in Australia, he has been on an emotional roller coaster. One that unceremoniously started when he suffered the worst sneak attack in tennis history at Roland Garros, at the hands of suddenly invincible Robin Soderling.