By Linda Pearce
Andy Murray has joined his No.1 rival Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals, as the pair continue to track along parallel paths to a likely showdown for the year-end top ranking in Sunday's decider.
Murray needed only to claim a set against third seed Stan Wawrinka to qualify, and duly did so after wresting the advantage with a key service break in the seventh game. But, needing to win the match to be guaranteed the top-of-group status that would allow him to avoid a premature meeting with Djokovic, the Scot completed an exceptional performance 6-4, 6-2 in 86 minutes.
"For sure he's playing more than well enough to win it here," said Wawrinka of an opponent he conceded was far superior on the day. "Who is the favourite? I think for me Novak and Andy are at the same level. I think it's going to be a really interesting weekend with some really good match tomorrow - semi-final, and hopefully amazing final. It will be interesting and amazing to finish with a final Andy against Novak."
Having lost three of his past four clashes with the US Open champion, and two days after a draining, extended encounter with Kei Nishikori, Murray dropped just four of 30 points on his first serve and survived a slashing start from an opponent who opened with four consecutive winners, and 12 in the first three games.
Andy Murray celebrates winning the first set against Stan Wawrinka.Credit: Getty Images
"I think kind of I weathered the early storm a little bit," Murray said. "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."
Wawrinka's outstanding 11-1 record in finals over the past three seasons has confirmed him as a big-match player, but the fine print reveals he is 3-0 against world No.1s in grand slam deciders and, after Friday, 0-20 otherwise. The Swiss was unable to add a fourth consecutive semi to his World Tour finals resume, throwing and then snapping a racquet over his leg in frustration as the must-win match slipped from his grasp.
"I don't really think too much how I'm going to break the racquet," said Wawrinka, who had the chance to finish at No.3 for the first time, but now must be content with No.4 or No.5. "I think the only thing I want is if I break it, I break it properly, and I let everything going out."
Murray had been helped by a netcord – as well as a clutch backhand volley – on his initial break point at 3-3, before playing immaculate tennis to run through eight of the last 11 games, admitting he was able to play more freely once the first set, and thus qualification among the last four, was his.
In the unlikely event he had not advanced from the group stage despite taking a 2-0 record into Friday's stoush with Wawrinka, Djokovic's return to No.1 at season's end was a certainty. Instead, Murray, whose buffer on arrival at the O2 was 130 points – factoring in the deduction of 275 points from last year's Davis Cup final on November 28 – has edged ahead by that slim margin again.
Wawrinka's defeat also booked Nishikori's semi-final passage for the second time in three visits to the season finale, despite a subsequent 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss of the evening match to Marin Cilic. The Japanese fifth seed will meet Djokovic - whom he trails 2-10 in career matches - on Saturday night, with Murray to play Milos Raonic in a Wimbledon finals rematch in the afternoon. The top seed has now extended his winning sequence to 22, in a brilliant period that has included 49 of 54 sets.
Yet he saw no great benefit from avoiding Djokovic in the semis, noting: "There's a good chance that if I want to win the tournament, I would have to win against him. That would either be in the semis or the final. I don't think that makes a whole lot of difference. But got a big match obviously against Milos now, a tough one. But I feel like my game's in a good place. Played much better today than I did a couple days ago. Physically I feel good. So looking forward to the weekend."
Murray's brother Jamie and his Brazilian partner Bruno Soares had earlier clinched the year-end No.1 doubles team ranking in their first season together by remaining unbeaten in the group stage while top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut lost their final round-robin match. The French pair were eliminated by Australian John Peers and Finn Henri Kontinen, who continued their strong recent form to carry a perfect 3-0 record into their semi against the Bryan brothers.
Andy Murray reflected on a "fantastic" year for both Dunblane brothers, with a determination to press on to what could be an historic end. "Obviously yeah, we would like to finish it perfectly if we can. Still there's a good chance that doesn't happen. Regardless of what happens over the weekend, we can look back on this year and be very proud of what we've done as a family."