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 Cibulkovas 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? Dominic Thiem is an up-and-coming talent 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 weeks Paris Masters semi-final against Murray with a leg injury, all hope is not lost. World Tour: Panel predictions See how our Sky Sports pundits think the ATP World Tour Finals will go and cast your vote 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. A look at why Monfils is tennis showman 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. Watch Thiems superb backhand 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.Thiems 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. Monfils is capable of both the sublime and ridiculous 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. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. If the fairytale follows Cibulkovas, and Monfils loses to Djokovic in the group and then meets the Serb in the final, hopefully he has taken note of Davydenkos 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. Also See: World Tour Finals on Sky Sports Stan the danger man World Tour Finals: The Groups Tour Finals at the O2 Adidas Yeezy Italia Online . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Adidas Yeezy Scontate . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. http://www.adidasyeezyscontate.it/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Scarpe Yeezy Scontate .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Adidas Yeezy Italia . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. PHOENIX -- Arizona manager Chip Hale used a team meeting Thursday to stress a return to relentless baseball, and the Diamondbacks 12-inning victory on Saturday night was exactly what he was looking for.Just let it fly, he said Thursday.The Dodgers, on the other hand, thought they let one slip away Saturday.When Brandon Drury singled through a five-man infield with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in a 2-1 win, it capped a game in which the Diamondbacks combined strong starting pitching, timely hitting and shutout work from their bullpen.We talked about going into the second half playing winning baseball and the wins and loses will take care of themselves, Hale said. That was a prime example. Clutch hitting when we needed it. We got a great start from Archie (Bradley). He really battled and did a great job of getting us through six innings and the bullpen was fantastic.Jake Lamb tied the score at 1 with a two-out, opposite-field double in the ninth inning off closer Kenley Jansen. Lamb had been 0-for-7 against Jansen in his career.Drury followed with the hit that helped Arizona (39-53) break a five-game losing streak and set up the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday when Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray will face Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda.It was Drurys first hit with the bases loaded in five occurrences this season.The first time you are in that situation with the bases loaded, you sometimes can let it catch up to you, he said. Learning how to slow it down a little bit is huge. I was a still anxious, for sure, but I think I was able to control it a little better that I have in the past.Ray made a quality start against the Dodgers on April 14, giving up two runs in 6 1/3 innings, but did not get a decision. Maeda is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two appearances against Arizona this year, although he has not made it through the sixth inning in either.ddddddddddddThe most important thing for us is just to reset and get it going, Hale said of the post-break season. Play the game like we know how to play it. Do the things you have to do.Situationally hit. Throw more strikes. Be able to concentrate late in an inning. Get signs. Different things that have been bugaboos for us right now. I feel like last year we were relentless. Just get back to that attitude.Bradley gave up one run in six innings while pitching around baserunners in all six innings, and six Arizona relievers gave up four hits in six scoreless innings. Randall Delgado got the victory when he got the only man he faced, Yasiel Puig, to ground out on a 3-1 pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 12th.After getting a sesaon-high 18 hits in a 13-7 victory in the series opener on Friday, the Dodgers had 10 more hits but left 15 runners on base. They were 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position, the only hit coming when Justin Turner drove in Chase Utley from second with a single in the third inning.They were unable to take advantage of a stellar outing from Brandon McCarthy, who gave up three hits and allowed only one runner past first base in six innings of his third start since returning from Tommy John surgery. He struck out nine, did not walk a batter and got to only two three-ball counts. He faced one batter over the minimum.That outing was exciting for all of us, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Unfortunately, we couldnt get him the win. We had opportunities. We just couldnt get that big hit. ' ' '