Nadal a better bet than Federer to win ATP World Tour Finals opener

Rafael Nadal is arguably the forgotten man heading into the ATP World Tour Finals and although he has a tough group to negotiate, he could be the value bet in the tennis odds to secure overall victory.

A big month beckons for Nadal as after playing in London he will return home to compete for Spain in the Davis Cup final with Argentina.

In preparation for these two big tournaments, Nadal opted to take the past three weeks off and this has resulted in him staying out of the limelight ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals.

There have been suspicions that he has been troubled by a minor shoulder injury, but 5/1 remains a big price for a first victory in the event for a player of his talents.

The schedule for the London event has also been relatively kind to Nadal as he arguably faces the weakest player in Group B first in Mardy Fish and this may be the perfect game to help build up his match sharpness ahead of tougher challenges.

Nadal is 1/4 in the tennis odds to beat Fish and has won seven of their eight career meetings, including the latest in the last few weeks in Shanghai in straight sets.

This may not look the most appealing price, but could still represent decent value given that Roger Federer is also 1/4 to triumph in his Group B opener with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Federer may be the form player on tour at the moment and beaten Tsonga as recently as last week in the final of the Paris Masters, but the Frenchman is known as a particularly dangerous opponent on hard courts.

He has already beaten Federer twice this season and could be overpriced at 3/1 to triumph again and boost his chances of reaching the ATP World Tour finals last four.