Dimitrov, the first Bulgarian to qualify for the prestigious season-ending tournament, and Cilic, who previously qualified in 2014 and 2016, clinched their berths today after fellow contender Sam Querrey lost in the first round of the Erste Bank Open 500 in Stockholm.
In compiling the best season of his career, Dimitrov won his biggest title in August when he claimed his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Kyrgios). The Bulgarian also put together a 16-1 record en route to the Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Nadal) and a pair of ATP World Tour 250 titles. He defeated three Top 10 players — Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori — in the final three rounds of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. On home soil at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open, the 26-year-old lifted the trophy with victory over David Goffin in the final. Last week, he finished as runner-up to Juan Martin del Potro at the Intrum Stockholm Open.
The Nitto ATP Finals welcomes more than 250,000 fans to The O2 arena each year, as well as generating a global TV viewership of more than 100 million, as the ATP’s best eight singles players and doubles teams of the season compete over eight days at the biggesindoor tennis tournament in the world.
