Six of the world’s top 10 women and four of the top 20 men – including tennis superstar Roger Federer – will headline Brisbane International 2014.

World No. 1 and Brisbane International defending champion Serena Williams will lead one of the strongest women’s fields ever assembled for the event, which has firmly established itself as the tournament of choice for the world’s best female tennis players ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year.

Williams will be joined by world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, Russian powerhouse Maria Sharapova and fellow top 10 players Jelena Jankovic, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki in what promises to be a hotly contested women’s draw.

Novak Djokovic brought the curtain down on a fantastic 2013 campaign with a thumping win over major rival Rafael Nadal at the O2 Arena here in London. The World No.2 was comprehensive in his defeat of World No.1 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 in just over an hour and a half to defend the crown he won last year. Matches between the duo have tended to be protracted affairs in the past, with fortunes swaying and both players pushed to the brink physically, but today Djokovic was a cut above Nadal and by their standards posted a relatively straightforward win.

The victory was Djokovic’s third at the World Tour Finals following victories in 2008 in Shanghai & last year here. It crowned a fine post US Open run where the Serb has remained undefeated through title runs in Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and finally in London. For Nadal, it was a disappointment as his quest for a World Tour Finals championship continues to elude him. The Spaniard had last made the final in 2010 where his dreams had then been squashed by a superior Federer.

Earlier, Fernando Verdasco & David Marrero in their first appearance at the World Tour Finals upset top seeds and former champions Bob & Mike Bryan 7/5, 6/7(3), 10-7. The all Spanish duo followed in the footsteps of last years’ surprise winners Granollers & Lopez who also claimed their maiden triumph in their tournament debut. The duo shared $335,500 in prize money and 1,300 points, while the Bryans split $195,500 and 800 points.

On semifinals day at the ATP World Tour Finals, Rafael Nadal defeated arch rival Roger Federer to advance to his second final at season ending championships here at the O2 Arena. World No.1 Nadal overcame a fighting Federer in the first set before easing past the tiring Swiss in the second to claim his maiden win over Federer indoors 7-5, 6-3. Rafa had last made the final here 3 years ago where he lost to Federer, the man he beat today. Tomorrow, in the final, he will face another long term rival Novak Djokovic who overcame another Swiss top tenner with a single handed backhand Stanislas Wawrinka. Wawrinka has troubled Djokovic in the past but today the defending champion overcame a slow start before powering through to defeat the Swiss No.2 6/3, 6/3 in probably his best match of the tournament. The world’s top two players Djokovic & Nadal now face off for the 39^th time tomorrow in the season finale. Djokovic has won this tournament twice and is the defending champion, while Nadal will be looking to plug the one major hole in his resume by capturing the World Tour Finals.

If Roger Federer was going to make it to the semifinal for the 11^th time in 12 appearances at the World Tour Finals he needed to surmount the far from insignificant obstacle of Juan Martin Del Potro. Digging himself holes in every set did not help his cause but he refused to give up. Fighting back from a set and a break down and another break down in the final set, the Swiss Maestro managed to somehow find a way to claw his way back and completed the Houdini act 4/6, 7/6(2), 7/5 to the delight of the appreciative crowd here at the O2 Arena in London. Federer though will have less than 24 hours to recover from this two and a half hour epic as he faces long-time rival Rafael Nadal in the first semi final tomorrow. Federer has defeated Nadal every one of the four times they have clashed at this tournament but Nadal holds a formidable 21-10 advantage overall.

In the evening match Novak Djokovic maintained his unbeaten record in the Group against Richard Gasquet 7/6(5), 4/6, 6/3. Gasquet put on an inspired display particularly in an exhilarating second set but Djokovic was able to strike at the right times to maintain his supremacy over the Frenchman.The defending champion next plays Stanislas Wawrinka in tomorrow’s semifinal.

It was Group B’s turn to take centre stage today at the O2 Arena and the big guns all came out blazing. In the marquee match, defending champion Novak Djokovic gunned down the biggest cannon of them all Juan Martin Del Potro by the curiously symmetric scoreline 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. While earlier in the battle of former “Baby Federer” Richard Gasquet and the real McCoy, Roger Federer it was the Swiss who posted a facile 6-4, 6-3 straight set win to put him on the scoreboard in the tournament. In the doubles it was group A who played and Ivan Dodig & Marcello Melo posted their second win against the Polish duo of Frystenberg & Matkowski 6-3, 3-6, 10-2. Their place in the semis was confirmed when the Bryan brothers defeated Qureshi & Rojer 7-6(3), 1-6, 14-12 in a tight 99 minute tussle.

It was a day of Bercy semifinal rematches here at the O2 Arena on day 2 as Djokovic resumed his rivalry with Federer and Nadal faced off against compatriot Ferrer just 3 days after they had previously clashed on Saturday. The top two ranked players prevailed over their opponents today in contrasting styles with Djokovic outlasting a spirited Federer 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2 while Nadal made short work of a tired Ferrer 6-3, 6-2. Both doubles matches went the distance as first Paes & Stepanek beat Peya & Soares 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 and then championship debutantes Dodig & Melo stunned the top seeds, the Bryan brothers 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in tense match tie-breaks.

Playing in his third career ATP semifinal, Vasek Pospisil came within a handful of points of defeating Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors on Saturday, an ATP World Tour 500 event.

The legendary Swiss served for the match at 6-3, 5-3 only to see the 23-year-old Canadian start an improbable comeback that would allow him to win the second set 7-6(3) thanks to an impressive tiebreak. In the final set, Pospisil found himself up a break at 3-1 and he also held a break point on Federer’s serve at 4-3 that would have allowed him to serve for the match, but that is as close as he would get to pulling off the upset. Federer tightened up his game just in time to come away with a 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-5 victory to reach his tenth final at his home tournament.