ANDY MURRAY TAKES CARE OF WAWRINKA TO GO 3-0 IN LONDON, CLINCHES SPOT IN WORLD TOUR FINALS SEMIS

Written by: Staff on 18th November 2016

ANDY MURRAY TAKES CARE OF WAWRINKA TO GO 3-0 IN LONDON, CLINCHES SPOT IN WORLD TOUR FINALS SEMIS

epa05637027 Andy Murray of Britain in action against Stan Wawrinka fo Switzerland during their Men's singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 18 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

By Ricky Dimon

The battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking will go on at least until Saturday.

Andy Murray joined Novak Djokovic in the last four at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals when he defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2 in his last round-robin match on Friday afternoon. Murray saved the only two break points he faced and converted three of seven break opportunities before prevailing in one hour and 26 minutes.

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in action against Andy Murray of Britain during their Men’s singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 18 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

For the first 30 minutes, at least, it was not as routine as the scoreline suggested. Wawarinka stormed out of the gates with an almost reckless abandon, firing winners from all directions. The Swiss blasted 13 winners in the first three games of the match. In his first three service games he crushed 15 winners. Solid serving by Murray, however, kept the Scot on even terms and his stalwart defense eventually forced his opponent to crack at 3-3 in the opening set.

Wawrinka survived another tough service game at 3-5 by fighting off three set points, but Murray served it out easily at 5-4.

The single victorious set allowed London’s top seed to secure a spot in the semifinals, but the No. 1 position in Group A remained up for grabs.

It wasn’t up for grabs long. Murray raced through the second set with service breaks in the first and third games, which preceded Wawrinka smashing two rackets one right after the other. The world No. 1 had to fend off break points on his own serve at 1-0 and 3-0 but wrapped up victory with a hold to 15 at 5-2. He capitalized on his first match point when Wawrinka shanked a forehand into the seats.

“I think kind of I weathered the early storm a little bit,” Murray reflected. “I mean, Stan came out hitting the ball huge. He was hitting a lot of winners; a lot of aces…. But once I got through the early part of the match, I started to create chances in most of his service games. I served very well myself. I got a lot of free points with my serve. That allowed me to also dictate a lot of the points, whereas at the beginning of the match I wasn’t able to do that.”

Andy Murray of Britain in action against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during their Men’s singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 18 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

“I tried everything today,” Wawrinka said. “I played against someone who was way better than me today. I have to accept it. I still enjoyed the week. I think it’s still a big chance for me to be here; I’m always happy to come back to World Tour Finals. That’s always something amazing for my career. Hopefully I can be back next year.”

Murray will go up against Milos Raonic, who finished second in Group B, on Saturday. Djokovic will contest the nightcap against Kei Nishikori.

Whichever player–Murray or Djokovic–fares better from this point forward will finish the season atop the rankings. If they both lose in the semis, Murray remains No. 1.