TENNIS NEWS NOW, RICKY’S PICKS AND PREVIEWS FOR MONDAY IN LONDON: ANDY MURRAY VS. DAVID FERRER, STAN WAWRINKA VS. RAFAEL NADAL AT THE ATP BARCLAYS FINALS

Written by: Staff on 15th November 2015

BNP Paribas 2015 Masters Tennis Tournament

TENNIS NEWS NOW, RICKY'S PICKS AND PREVIEWS FOR MONDAY IN LONDON: ANDY MURRAY VS. DAVID FERRER, STAN WAWRINKA VS. RAFAEL NADAL AT THE ATP BARCLAYS FINALS

epa05014870 Spain's Rafael Nadal serves the ball to Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka during their quarter final match at the BNP Paribas 2015 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 06 November 2015. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Ricky’s preview and picks for Monday in London: Murray vs. Ferrer, Wawrinka vs. Nadal

By Ricky Dimon

Andy Murray will contest his World Tour Finals opener against David Ferrer on Monday afternoon. They just faced each other in the semifinals of the Paris Masters. Monday’s nightcap is also a rematch of a Paris showdown, and it will pit Stanislas Wawrinka against Rafael Nadal.

(2) Andy Murray vs. (7) David Ferrer

Britain’s Andy Murray in action against Australia’s Bernard Tomic during the Davis Cup semi final tie between Britain and Australia at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Britain, 20 September 2015. EPA/ROBERT PERRY

Andy Murray and David Ferrer will be colliding for the 18th time in their careers and for the second time this month on Monday.

Murray extended his lead in the head-to-head series to 11-6, including 9-2 on hard courts, by trouncing Ferrer 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Masters. Their only other encounter in 2015 came on a more favorable surface for Ferrer at the French Open, but Murray still got the job done and advanced to the semis with a 7-6(4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory. Ferrer last prevailed 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 last season in Shanghai but has since lost four in a row to the world No. 3.

After briefly threatening to skip the year-end championship, Murray has decided to turn up at the 02. Still, there is no secret that the Scot’s primary objective is the Davis Cup final between Great Britain and Belgium the following week. The Belgians are hosting the tie on clay, so Murray has been practicing on the red stuff–not on indoor hard courts–at Queen’s Club. He is 9-2 since the U.S. Open with a semifinal showing in Shanghai and a runner-up performance in Paris (lost to Novak Djokovic on both occasions).

Ferrer surged into London despite missing several months this summer because of an elbow injury. The 33-year-old is 55-13 for the season and although he has endured a few hiccups since returning at the U.S. Open, his comeback has been nothing short of outstanding. In addition to his runner-up finish in Paris, Ferrer captured titles in Kuala Lumpur and Vienna while also reaching the Beijing semis.

The Spaniard is 8-11 lifetime at the year-end championship and he finished runner-up to Roger Federer in 2007. Murray is a modest 10-9 lifetime in six World Tour Finals appearances and he has never made it past the semifinals.

This is a great opportunity for Ferrer because Murray is focused on Davis Cup and has been practicing on clay. In the end, though, the crowd favorite will likely find his game–and his motivation–and have too much offense for Ferrer on an indoor hard court.

Pick: Murray in 3

(4) Stan Wawrinka vs. (5) Rafael Nadal

Wawrinka and Nadal will be squaring off for the 17th time in their careers and for the third time this fall on Monday night.

They split their two most recent meetings, with Nadal dominating 6-2, 6-1 in the Shanghai quarterfinals before Wawrinka exacted revenge with a 7-6(8), 7-6(7) victory at the same stage of the Paris Masters. Their only previous encounter at the year-end championship came in 2013 and it also went to a pair of tiebreakers before Nadal survived 7-6(5), 7-6(6). Overall, the Spaniard owns a 13-3 lead in the head-to-head series–including 8-2 on hard courts and 2-1 indoors.

This season will go down as a disappointment for Nadal regardless of what transpires at the O2 because he failed to win a Grand Slam title or even a Masters 1000 tournament. That being said, the world No. 5 is in relatively resurgent form at the moment. In addition to his Paris performance, Nadal’s fall swing includes a semifinal showing in Shanghai and runner-up finishes in Beijing (to Novak Djokovic) and Basel (to Roger Federer).

Wawrinka’s year, of course, is highlighted by his second-ever major title at the French Open. The fourth-ranked Swiss also reached semifinals at the Australian Open and U.S. Open to go along with a trip to the Wimbledon quarters. He has plenty of momentum heading into London with a 17-4 record dating back to the start of the season’s final Grand Slam.

Neither man has ever triumphed at the World Tour Finals. Nadal, who missed the event in 2014 due to injury, is 13-11 lifetime with runner-up efforts in 2010 and 2013. Wawrinks is 4-4 in two appearances and reached the semis in both 2013 and 2014.

A relatively slow hard court that is reportedly identical to the Paris surface should be conducive to each player’s game and will likely result in another high-quality, competitive contest. Nadal will be well-rested this time around and may be particularly motivated for his first London appearance since 2013.

Pick: Nadal in 3

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, David Ferrer, London tennis, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

November 15, 2015 at 10:01 am

-@Dimonator’s Picks And Previews For Monday In #London: #Murray Vs #Ferrer, #Wawrinka Vs #Nadal At The #ATPFinals
https://t.co/CEVl5eMIOz
Dimonator says:

November 15, 2015 at 10:04 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s Picks And Previews For Monday In #London: #Murray Vs #Ferrer, #Wawrinka Vs #Nadal At The #ATPFinals
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