Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will play for the 35th time on Sunday when they meet during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title match in London. And when you play someone that often, apparently you develop a special bond, a “romance” as Djokovic called it on Saturday. Or, as he clarified later, a “bromance”. After his 6-1, 6-1 semi-final win against Kei Nishikori, Djokovic was asked about playing Murray with the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking on the line during the final match of the season. This is the first time the top spot will be decided by the top two players in the championship match of the season finale. “Seems like a movie story scenario. It's a...
Andy Murray moved through to the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a scintillating 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) victory at The O2 on Saturday, and a snapshot of just one point from the third-set tie-break provides an overview of how a broad strategic plan plays out at a critical moment in time. Third Set Tie-Break 5/5: Murray Serving For the match, Murray served 72 per cent out wide in the deuce court, 23 per cent down the middle T, and just five per cent at the body. On this huge deuce court point, the Brit stuck with his favorite slice location out wide, even though it was to Raonic’s more potent forehand wing. The serve offered Murray an...
The power of a shot does not always equal power over an opponent, as Andy Murray clearly illustrated in his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Friday. Murray won 16 more points (67-51) than his Swiss rival, but when you examine the velocity of the groundstrokes, it appears to be in direct conflict with the final score. Murray and Wawrinka were not shy trading forehands and backhands from the back of the court, but the more powerful groundstrokes in this encounter were clearly struck by the player who won’t end up playing this weekend. Wawrinka’s average forehand speed was 77 mph, well ahead of Murray’s 73 mph, with the Swiss hitting 16...
Our typical ride to the courts of an ATP World Tour tournament looks like this: I sit in one row of the tournament transportation van, and my doubles partner, Jamie Murray, sits in another, and we enjoy some down time. During our rides to tournament sites, either before or after matches, we're usually not itching to catch up or talk about current events; I spend more time with Jamie than I do my wife, so we have plenty of time for small talk during every other part of the day. But pre- and post-match transportation looks a lot different at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Namely, we travel by boat instead of by car. The boats come and...
Since 2009, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has found a home in the iconic city of London with more world-class tennis scheduled at The O2 through to at least 2018. With the prospect of the biggest match in the tournament’s 46-year history on the cards, should Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic battle for year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in Sunday’s final, ATPWorldTour.com looks back on the best matches at another of the season finale’s long-term former homes: Madison Square Garden in New York City. This week, more than 30 former players who competed at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in the 1980s are joining current stars at The O2 as part of the ATP Finals...