British fans love an underdog and, in Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem, they will have two to get behind at the ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 next week.
Should either of them manage to overcome the likes of new world No 1 Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to win the title, it would go down as one of the most famous victories in the history of the event.
Djokovic has won the past four editions; Roger Federer twice before him. You have to look back to 2009, when Nikolay Davydenko stunned Federer in the semi-final and defeated then US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the final for an upset of comparable magnitude.
Before that, in 2005, David Nalbandian became the first man not to have won a Grand Slam or Masters title to lift the trophy.
Inspiration is few and far between then, although Monfils and Thiem __can look to Dominika Cibulkova's surprise debut victory at the WTA Finals in Singapore last month. Her win over world No 1 Angelique Kerber in the final was a fairytale, but do Monfils and Thiem have what it takes to emulate her?
They are paired with Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic in the Ivan Lendl group at the O2, so the Frenchman and Austrian are up against it from the off.
But with Djokovic faltering of late and Raonic withdrawing from last week's Paris Masters semi-final against Murray with a leg injury, all hope is not lost.
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At 30 years old, Monfils has plenty of experience and goes into the Tour Finals having won the Citi Open in July and recorded career-best results at both the US Open (semi-final) and Australian Open (quarter-final) this year. He also has a winning record of 3-2 over Raonic.
His run in New York, in particular, should give him heart. The Frenchman did not drop a single set on his way to the last four, beating former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis and flourishing against compatriot Lucas Pouille in the quarter-final.
However, there was the small matter of Monfils' bizarre semi-final against Djokovic. The Frenchman tried every trick in the book against the Serb, with varying and sometimes hilarious results.
He play-acted and fired balls almost into the crowd, but also hit some of the most spectacular winners Flushing Meadows had seen this year. He occasionally looked as if he might give up and received serve two feet inside the baseline, but then burst into life, sometimes crushing a return past the open-mouthed Djokovic.
He double-faulted at 137mph, on second serve. He served 11 aces and 11 double faults. When he shook hands, having taken a set off the eventual runner-up, he was completely spent.
Meanwhile, Thiem, at 23 years old, has four titles of his own this year across all three surfaces, in Buenos Aires, Nice, Acapulco and Stuttgart. He also reached the French Open semi-final.
Thiem's showings in Paris belied his years. The Austrian battled through four four-set matches, knocking out 12th-seed David Goffin in the quarters.
But, like Monfils, his progress was stopped by Djokovic. Yet, unlike Monfils, Thiem was steamrollered by the Serb in straight sets, the Austrian picking up just seven games in the process.
When it comes to London, neither player will suffer the weight of expectation when they step on court, but they will find a different atmosphere to what they are used to.
While Thiem will certainly not wilt under the bright lights, it is the Frenchman who is more likely to embrace the electric energy from the crowd and use it to aid his flamboyant style.
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If the fairytale follows Cibulkova's, and Monfils loses to Djokovic in the group and then meets the Serb in the final, hopefully he has taken note of Davydenko's triumph and will beat him when it really matters, at the 15th time of asking.
Watch every day of the ATP World Tour Finals, from November 13-20, live on Sky Sports. Full schedule here.
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