London - Roger Federer and home hero Andy Murray were drawn Wednesday into the same group for the World Tour Finals, with the Scot due on court on Sunday to start the eight-man year-end wrap-up. It is the second year in succession that Murray and Federer will go head-to-head in the round-robin stage at the concluding event of an 11-month season after Shanghai in 2008.
Murray, fourth in the rankings behind his Swiss rival, Spain's Rafael Nadal and on-form Novak Djokovic, owns winning marks over other group competitors Juan Del Potro and Fernando Verdasco.
He stands 6-3 against Federer, with the Swiss winning their last meeting in the Cincinnati semis in August.
Murray is due to start the tournament in a television match, with order of play still to be determined.
"It's going to be great," said Murray. "Obviously I'm looking forward to it. It's a new tournament for London. To get a chance to play against Federer, maybe Nadal here, the crowd is going to be great with over 250,000 tickets sold so I'm really looking forward to it.
"It's a great group of players, probably the strongest we have had in quite a few years."
The eventual champion - if undefeated - could lift more than 1.6 million dollars for the week.
Murray won a British title this year at Queen's Club while Federer claimed another Wimbledon and is looking for a fifth end-of-year title.
"Whoever you draw is going to be tough," said Murray, who reached the semi-finals in Shanghai last year. "Obviously I look forward to playing Roger.
"I have played Juan a few times on the tour recently and also had a close match recently with Verdasco indoors in Valencia. It's a tough group but if I play well I think I have a good chance of qualifying."
Nadal heads Group B, which includes holder Novak Djokovic Russian Nikolay Davydenko, and Sweden's French Open finalist against Federer Robin Soderling, a first-time participant due to the pullout of Andy Roddick with a knee injury.
Group A
Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Juan Del Potro, Fernando Verdasco.
Group B
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Soderling.
