ANDY MURRAY ESCAPES FROM BRINK OF DEFEAT, OUTLASTS RAONIC IN WILD WORLD TOUR FINALS MARATHON

Written by: Staff on 19th November 2016

ANDY MURRAY ESCAPES FROM BRINK OF DEFEAT, OUTLASTS RAONIC IN WILD WORLD TOUR FINALS MARATHON |

By Ricky Dimon

Milos Raonic was rewriting the script at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Andy Murray decided he didn’t like the new version.

Keeping alive a potential head-to-head final showdown against Novak Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking, Andy Murray recovered from a set and a break deficit and saved one match point to beat Raonic 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) in Saturday’s opening semifinal that lasted three hours and 38 minutes.

It was the longest best-of-three match in the history of the year-end championship. It may have been the craziest, too.

Similar to their Queen’s Club title match this summer, Saturday’s thriller saw Raonic bully his way to a set and a break advantage. The world No. 4 did not face a single break point in the opening set but suddenly ran into trouble in the second. After fighting off two break points to hold for 1-1 and then breaking for 2-1, Raonic dropped serve at love in the fourth game. He saved two more break points to reach 3-3 and eventually managed to force a tiebreaker. The underdog earned a mini-break back for 4-5 with a forehand winner only to watch Murray regain an advantage with a forehand drop-volley at 5-5. That gave the Scot a set point on his own serve, which he converted when Raonic erred on a forehand return.

Thus the stage was set for even greater drama–and for what was arguably the most mind-boggling set on the 2016 tennis calendar. Murray served for the match not once, but twice, only to get broken both times. Starting at 4-4, the returning player won four consecutive games and 17 of 22 points.

“I really tried to leave it all out there,” Raonic assured. “I turned it around for myself twice there at the end of the third…. I just did everything I could, everything that was within me, at least to try to win. It’s that simple.”

The ‘breaker was anything but simple. Murray gave back mini-breaks on three occasions–at 1-0, 5-4, and with match point on his own serve at 7-6. Raonic then earned his only match point with his opponent serving at 8-9. The Canadian benefited from a second serve to get into a rally with a real chance of crossing the finish line, but Murray survived with a clutch approach shot and winning backhand volley. After the world No. 1 took care of his next service point, it ended–finally–when Raonic netted a forehand.

“(It was) a pretty amazing tiebreak,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “Some great points.”

Raonic’s ever-improving ground game was on full display throughout the contest, as he won at least 37 percent of the points on Murray’s first and second serves. The fourth seed was plagued, however, by six double-faults and just 45 percent of his second-serve points won.

“Unbelievably tough,” the three-time major champion added. “I had to fight very, very hard to get over the line…. It was an amazing atmosphere. The longer the match went on, the louder and better the crowd got. This is what we play for; for matches like this in arenas like this.”

“The best match I’ve ever competed (in), yes,” Raonic said when asked if that was the best match he’s ever played despite losing. “I don’t know necessarily playing-wise; I don’t think I necessarily served phenomenal throughout the match–these kinds of things. But the way I was constantly trying to stay positive, keep my energy up, trying to fight through…that’s definitely the most significant thing I’ve done today.

“I have to be proud that I finished the year with giving it every ounce of energy I had. I’m pretty sure I’m going to feel like crap tomorrow.”

Murray, however, will have to get right back at it tomorrow with another match–and potentially one that has No. 1 implications depending on the outcome of Saturday’s nightcap between Djokovic and Kei Nishikori. But no matter what happens the rest of the way in London, one thing is clear in Raonic’s mind.

“Regardless or not if they play tomorrow, obviously Andy’s still the best player in the world of 2016. There’s no question about it.”