2014 ATP World Tour Finals: Odds for Each Player to Win in London

It's time for the ATP World Tour Finals, the aptly-named final ATP event of the year.

This is one of my favorite events of the season, since the unique format and elite top-eight field ensures plenty of great matches and non-stop drama from Sunday to Sunday.

Here's how the format works: The top eight men of the year are split into two groups. The event begins in a round-robin format, meaning that each man plays three matches against the other competitors in his group. The top two players from each group then advance to the semifinals.

This year, Rafael Nadal is sitting at home recovering from an appendectomy, but there's still plenty of talent to go around. Group A includes Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic; Group B is Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray and Milos Raonic. It's a great mixture of veterans, the next generation and surprise Slam winners. Not bad at all.

So go ahead and get on London time for one last week, and get ready to say goodbye to this crazy ATP season in style.

Here's a breakdown of the field, including my own odds for the winner.

Milos Raonic: 20-1

Michel Euler/Associated Press

2014 in review: It was a breakthrough year for the 23-year-old Canadian. He went 49-18 with one title. He made it to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open and his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. 

However, it was his great late-season form that put him into his very first World Tour Finals. He made it to the final in Tokyo and the final in Paris—where he upset Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych along the way—to clinch his spot.

Keys to victory: With Raonic, it's all about his serve and forehand. While the rest of his game has improved immensely, he is still going to need his biggest two weapons to be working in overdrive if he's going to have a chance against the best in the world. 

Prediction: Raonic was the last man to qualify for the field, is the youngest of the bunch and has a tough group, but he still has a chance to advance; Raonic has victories this year over his group mates Andy Murray, Federer and Kei Nishikori. 

Still, it's going to be tough for Raonic to make it to the semifinals. He'll likely fall in the round robins, with just one good win.

Tomas Berdych: 20-1

Michel Euler/Associated Press

2014 in review: Tomas Berdych finished the year ranked No. 7, so it's been a good season by any measure. However, he missed big opportunities in 2014, losing in the Australian Open semis to Stan Wawrinka and in the U.S. Open quarters to Marin Cilic.

Despite a 54-20 record and two titles, Berdych has no wins over any of his fellow WTF competitors this season.

Keys to victory: Berdych needs to find another level. All season he's defeated the players he's supposed to beat, but hasn't been able to rise to the occasion against the best. Solid and steady won't cut it in this field.

Prediction: This is the 29-year-old Czech's fifth straight appearance at the WTFs, and he's only made it out of the round robins once, back in 2011. With Djokovic, Wawrinka and Cilic in his group, I don't expect him to add to that tally this year. He'll be lucky to get one win.

Stan Wawrinka: 15-1

Andrew Brownbill/Associated Press

2014 in review: Stan (formerly known as Stanislas) Wawrinka started the year by shocking the world and winning the Australian Open. He also won his first Masters title in Monte Carlo and notched wins this season over Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

However, his 36-15 record on the year is the most paltry of all the competitors, and he's only won one match since the U.S. Open. His inconsistencies have defined him. 

Keys to victory: Wawrinka needs to find his early-season form if he wants a chance to match his performance last year and make it to the semis. He needs to let his one-handed backhand take over matches, and, most importantly, dig deep and fight. He's been too passive lately.

Prediction: Wawrinka has great head-to-head records against his fellow group mates Marin Cilic and Tomas Berdych, and is certainly capable of beating Djokovic. However, with his poor form lately it's hard to see him making it out of the round robin.

Marin Cilic 12-1

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

2014 in review: Marin Cilic was having a solid-but-ordinary season until he reached PEAK form and steamrolled through the second week of the U.S. Open to capture his first Grand Slam. He won three other titles this year, all at smaller tournaments: Zagreb, Delray Beach and Moscow.

Keys to victory: Cilic needs to play like he did at the U.S. Open, with effortless moving, lethal serving and an untouchable forehand. Simple, right?

Prediction: This is Cilic's first trip to the World Tour Finals, so it's hard to know what to expect from the 26-year-old Croat.

However, I expect him to be rested and ready to go after skipping the Paris Masters, and I think he'll make it to the semifinals out of his group—he's in much better form than Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, two of the other players in his group.

Kei Nishikori: 10-1

Lai Seng Sin/Associated Press

2014 in review: The man formerly known as Project 45 finished the season ranked No. 5, thanks primarily to a brilliant late-season surge. After a toe injury kept him out most of the U.S. Open Series, Nishikori surprised everyone—himself included—when he made a run to the U.S. Open final.

He followed that up with back-to-back titles in Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, and then made the semis in Paris to clinch his spot in the WTFs. A year to remember for sure.

Keys to victory: Nishikori has the talent to beat anyone, but it all comes down to fitness and energy for him: If he can muster the warrior mode that he found in Flushing Meadows, he's a danger to everyone.

Prediction: Nishikori got put into a tough group, since both Roger Federer and Andy Murray are in fabulous form as well and will both have the London-crowd support. I expect Nishikori to make things in his group interesting, but ultimately fall short of the semis.

Andy Murray: 8-1

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

2014 in review: Andy Murray has had a slow comeback from back surgery. He struggled to find his form early this season, particularly after he parted ways with his coach Ivan Lendl in March. He wasn't a big factor at any of the majors this year.

However, he's won three titles in the last two months and, with new coach Amelie Mauresmo by his side, finally looks like a player who has two major titles to his name. 

Keys to victory: Murray needs to be aggressive. Too often he gets caught behind the baseline in pusher mode, and that rarely (if ever) works against the best in the world. If he doesn't take control of matches, he could be in for a disappointing week. (Oh, and a first serve would help.)

Prediction: Murray loves performing in front of his home crowd at the O2 arena in London, and I expect him to be on his game in a big-time tournament for the first time all season.

Look for Murray to make his way to the semis. He should have an upper hand over everyone not named Federer or Djokovic in the field. 

Roger Federer: 7-2

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

2014 in review: Many expected Roger Federer's fade to continue this season, but instead he's had a late-career revival. At 33 years old, he made the final at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open semifinals and has won three of the last five tournaments he's entered.

Federer has done particularly well at the Masters this season, making it to five finals and winning two.

Keys to victory: Federer needs to take his chances. It's been a long season, and he showed signs of fatigue in Paris, when he lost to Milos Raonic in the quarters with a chance to get the No. 1 ranking that week. He needs to be aggressive with his serve and return, come to the net and, crucially, take break points.

Prediction: I see Federer having another great run here, and making it to at least the semis. In fact, I'll be not-at-all bold and say he'll make the final, where he'll lose to the next guy on this list. 

Novak Djokovic: 2-1

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

2014 in review: Oh, you know, it's just been another ho-hum season for Djokovic: He's won six titles, including Wimbledon and four Masters, and is one win away from clinching his third year-end No. 1 ranking. It's been a decent year off-the-court too: Djokovic is now a husband and a father.

It might have been a wacky year on the ATP World Tour, but Djokovic is still the guy to beat.

Keys to victory: The Serb just needs to be himself. If he's clicking in all facets of his game like he's been doing the past few months, it's going to take a superhuman performance to beat him.

Prediction: Djokovic should dominate his group, and, in my opinion, the rest of the field. I see him finishing 2014 with his third straight Barclays ATP World Tour Finals trophy.