ATP Masters Series

The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the men's Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour from 2004 until 2008. The events were held annually in Europe and North America. The tournaments were important for the top male players on the professional circuit as the series constituted the most prestigious tournaments in men's tennis after the four Grand Slam events. The events were known as the Championship Series, Single Week from 1990 to 1995, the Super 9 from 1996 to 1999, and the Tennis Masters Series from 2000 to 2003. Since 2009 the events have been called the ATP Tour Masters 1000.
History.
The series was introduced in 1990 with the inception of the ATP Tour by bringing together the nine most prestigious tournaments of the preceding Grand Prix tennis circuit. Results in ATP Masters Series events earned players more world ranking points than regular tournaments, though not as many as Grand Slam events or the year-end ATP World Tour Finals. Up until 2007, most Masters Series finals were contested as best of five set matches, but from 2008 all Masters Series events were decided in best of three set matches.As part of a shake-up of the tennis circuit in 2009, the Masters Series became the ATP Tour Masters 1000, with the addition of the number 1000 referring to the number of ranking points earned by the winner of each tournament. Contrary to earlier plans, the number of tournaments was not reduced from nine to eight and the Monte-Carlo Masters remained part of the series although, unlike the other events, it does not have a mandatory player commitment. The Hamburg Masters event was downgraded to an ATP Tour 500 event. The Madrid Masters moved to May and onto clay courts. A new tournament in Shanghai replaced the Hamburg Masters and took over Madrid's former October indoor slot. In 2011, six of the nine "1000" level tournaments were combined ATP and WTA events.Taking into account the renamed ATP Tour Masters 1000, Novak Djokovic currently holds the record for a total of 36 titles.
Tournaments.
"*" Note: Although the Monte Carlo Masters is billed as taking place in Monte Carlo, in the country of Monaco, it is actually held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, a commune of France adjacent to Monaco.