Andy Murray to face Roger Federer in ATP Finals group
ATP World Tour Finals Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 21-28 November Coverage: One match each day live on BBC TV, streamed online & available through iPlayer; text commentary online and on mobiles for every singles match via BBC Sport website; every singles match live on 5live sports extra.
The eight finalists are split into two groups, with play starting on Sunday
Andy Murray says he must hit the ground running when he opens his ATP World Tour Finals campaign against Robin Soderling in London on Sunday.
The pair will play in the opening match of the eight-man event at 1400 GMT, before Group B rivals Roger Federer and David Ferrer meet at 2000 GMT.
Two players from each group will make it through to the semi-finals.
"You really need to be switched on from the first one and try and get yourself off to a good start," said the Scot.
"But obviously Robin's playing really well right now, he just won in Paris, so it'll be tough."
ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS
Group A:
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Tomas Berdych
Andy Roddick
Group B:
Roger Federer
Robin Soderling
Andy Murray
David Ferrer
World number one Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick will make up Group A at the O2 Arena, with Djokovic taking on Berdych at 1400 GMT on Monday before Nadal and Roddick play at 2000 GMT.
The round-robin nature of the tournament poses a different challenge for the players, but Murray is a fan of the format despite missing out on a semi-final place last year.
Murray won two of his three group matches but still failed to qualify as he was edged out - by a single game - on the percentage of games won by eventual runner-up Juan Martin del Potro.
"I do like it but it's obviously totally different and a different mentality," Murray told BBC Radio 5 live.
"You're playing one of the best players in the world straight off the bat, but also you can afford to lose a match.
"Normally when we lose we go home and try and pick ourselves up, whereas here you have to be ready to play in a couple of days and be confident enough to try and come back. But I like it, it's very different to the rest of the year."
Murray and Soderling have played four times, with two wins apiece, although their only meeting in the last four years came in Indian Wells earlier this year, and it was the Swede who prevailed.
He also overtook Murray for fourth place in the world rankings last week after winning his first Masters 1000 title in Paris.
"This year has been really good and I won my first Masters title last week," Soderling told 5 live.
"Winning matches and big tournaments gives you a boost, and now I know this is the last tournament and I only have to fight for one more week, which I'm sure I can do."
Murray was ranked third earlier this year, and before Monday had spent only three weeks outside the top four since September 2008, but defeat by Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals in Paris last week opened the door for Soderling to grab fourth spot.
Federer is the favourite to win Group B according to the rankings but he must recover from a tough defeat in Paris last week when he saw five match points slip by before losing to Gael Monfils.
"Right now it's about saving energy, getting ready to play the matches," he said. "I've played four of the last five weeks and my game is right where I want it to be.
"It's the ninth time for me and I know the drill. I feel like I've got one more tournament left in me. My body is not screaming for a vacation quite yet.
"This is a huge tournament for me. It is a goal of the season to make it here. I hope I can save my best until last."
The world's top eight doubles pairings will also be in action at the O2, with Group A featuring Bob and Mike Bryan, Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes, Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, and Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner.
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach, Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi, and Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman make up Group B.
Highlights - Davydenko beats Del Potro in O2 final
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