NO.1 STEP CLOSER
Murray has to dig deep once more as Raonic makes him fight to the last
Andy Murray last night edged closer to ending the year as World No.1 when he beat big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic to make the final of the ATP Tour Finals in London. The Scot had to be at his determined best to grind out a 5-7 7-6 7-6 win which took three hours and 38 minutes at the O2 Arena. Murray said: “It was one of the harder matches I’ve ever played indoors.”
He broke his own London record, he broke Milos Raonic’s heart and Andy Murray was into the final of the ATP Tour Finals.
It had been a white-knuckle ride for three hours and 38 minutes and until the final seconds, no one could second guess the result.
This was Murray at his dogged, and determined best. But this was also Raonic at his aggressive and daring best. Murray won 5-7, 7- 6, 7- 6 and the crowd went crazy.
Murray said: “It was an amazing atmosphere – and one of the harder matches I’ve played indoors.
“You don’t expect that, especially against a serve like Milos.
“We had so many long games, long points – it was really tough.”
But now the Scot must rest and regroup for tonight’s final. On Wednesday, he set the record for the tournament’s longest match by beating Kei Nishikori in three hours and 20 minutes.
That took a toll but at least he had a day off to recover. The epic yesterday set another record but this time Murray only has a night to recharge ahead of the last match of his season. He has no idea how
much he has left in the tank and all he can do is fight for all he is worth. Again. Murray said: “Obviously I’m tired. I’ve played so much tennis the last few months. I’ll just give it my best effort.”
After a couple of years of lacklustre performances at the O2 Arena, no one could fault Murray’s workrate or determination this past week. His marathon against Nishikori had the 17,000- strong crowd on the edge of their seats – this time it meant so much more.
The Scot had worked so hard for so long to get himself to the No.1 spot and now he stood one or two matches away from ensuring he ended the year as the best player in the world.
But as he set about Raonic, the magic and the dominance that crushed Stan Wawrinka just 24 hours before was missing.
Murray looked unsure of how to tackle the big man with the bigger
serve. As the first set reached crisis point, the current No.1 had only gleaned five points from Raonic’s service games while the Canadian had mopped up 15 from Murray’s serve. The first set was always heading the Canadian’s way.
Throughout it all, Ivan Lendl sat impassively, his pupil growling and howling.
There was no way Murray seemed to be able to hurt his foe and it was driving him crazy.
And then, in the second set, Murray tried a different tack – he went for it.
From a break down, he committed to his line of attack and broke the Raonic serve in the very next game. Game on.
For the next 50 minutes, the two inched their way towards the tiebreak. Finally, it took a second of inspired genius from Murray – an acute angle that skimmed across the court – and he had a set point. One big serve later, he was back in business at a set apiece. Now it was a battle of the fittest, both mentally and physically.
The three-hour mark came and they were still locked at 4- 4.
And then Raonic blinked. When he needed to stand firm, he was forced into one error, was bullied into three more and his serve was left lying in shreds on the court. Murray had broken. He was serving for his place in the final.
And then he dropped his serve. And then Raonic blinked again. And then Murray dropped his serve again. And now they were into another tiebreak.
Three match points came and went before, at last, Murray got his reward. One last forehand into the net by Raonic gave the world No.1 his ticket to the final.