ATP Finals and Davis Cup: How November's Two Tennis Finales Work

How a match you're not playing in can knock you out

A 2-0 record does not guarantee a semi-final place. A three-way tie on two wins is settled on the percentage of sets won, so a player's fate can turn on a match he isn't playing in.

Take a made-up group. In the figures below, "sets 4-2" means four sets won and two lost. After two rounds:

• Player A beat C 2-1 and D 2-1: two wins, sets 4-2.

• Player B beat D 2-0 and lost to C 1-2: one win, sets 3-2.

• Player C beat B 2-1 and lost to A 1-2: one win, sets 3-3.

• Player D lost both: sets 1-4.

On the final day, B beats A 2-1. A, B and C are all on two wins, so the percentage of sets won decides it. A finishes on 5-4 (55.6%) and B on 5-3 (62.5%). In the other match, C plays D:

• If C wins in straight sets, C finishes 5-3 (62.5%). A has the lowest percentage and goes out, and C wins the group because C beat B.

• If C needs three sets, C finishes 5-4 (55.6%). B tops the group, and A takes second because A beat C.

Player A started the day with two wins and ended it waiting on a set in someone else's match.

How the Davis Cup Final 8 works

The Davis Cup Final 8 is a straight knockout between eight countries. Each meeting between two nations is called a tie, and each match within it is a rubber. Seven qualifiers join hosts and holders Italy for quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. Each tie is best of three rubbers, two singles then a doubles, and every match is best of three sets.

That format changes the feel of a tie in three ways:

• The captain picks the two singles players for each tie.

• If the singles are shared 1-1, the doubles decides the tie, so a strong pair can carry a team further than its singles players' rankings suggest.

• Davis Cup singles used to be best of five sets. Over three sets, a single break of serve counts for much more.

How a match you're not playing in can knock you out

A 2-0 record does not guarantee a semi-final place. A three-way tie on two wins is settled on the percentage of sets won, so a player's fate can turn on a match he isn't playing in.

Take a made-up group. In the figures below, "sets 4-2" means four sets won and two lost. After two rounds:

• Player A beat C 2-1 and D 2-1: two wins, sets 4-2.

• Player B beat D 2-0 and lost to C 1-2: one win, sets 3-2.

• Player C beat B 2-1 and lost to A 1-2: one win, sets 3-3.

• Player D lost both: sets 1-4.

On the final day, B beats A 2-1. A, B and C are all on two wins, so the percentage of sets won decides it. A finishes on 5-4 (55.6%) and B on 5-3 (62.5%). In the other match, C plays D:

• If C wins in straight sets, C finishes 5-3 (62.5%). A has the lowest percentage and goes out, and C wins the group because C beat B.

• If C needs three sets, C finishes 5-4 (55.6%). B tops the group, and A takes second because A beat C.

Player A started the day with two wins and ended it waiting on a set in someone else's match.

How the Davis Cup Final 8 works

The Davis Cup Final 8 is a straight knockout between eight countries. Each meeting between two nations is called a tie, and each match within it is a rubber. Seven qualifiers join hosts and holders Italy for quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. Each tie is best of three rubbers, two singles then a doubles, and every match is best of three sets.

That format changes the feel of a tie in three ways:

• The captain picks the two singles players for each tie.

• If the singles are shared 1-1, the doubles decides the tie, so a strong pair can carry a team further than its singles players' rankings suggest.

• Davis Cup singles used to be best of five sets. Over three sets, a single break of serve counts for much more.

Two finals in one month

The season that began in Australia in January ends in Turin with one player on his own, and a week later in Bologna with a team. More explainers are on the Ladbrokes news hub.

See the latest ATP Finals and Davis Cup markets at Ladbrokes.

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