THREE DOWN 1 TO GO
Murray wins again as he closes in on Djokovic
MORE than seven years have passed since Andy Murray first reached the world No 2 position in men’s tennis.
Now, with the 2016 season entering the home straight, he is tantalisingly near to making what he called the hardest leap of all after winning his latest ATP Tour title.
Murray yesterday inflicted his latest defeat on France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to take the Erste Bank Vienna open title, his third tournament success in a row and his 15th consecutive singles victory in this autumn surge.
‘I get a step closer with every win but it’s still a long way from here,’ said Murray, after triumphing 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 48 minutes.
‘From two to one seems a small jump in a way but it’s the hardest one to make. To go from 100 to 50 is more spots but is a lot easier.’
Not only has the 29-year-old Scot equalled Novak Djokovic’s tally of seven tournament titles this season, his rival is finally within range of being overtaken at the top of the rankings after 122 consecutive weeks in residence.
This week’s indoor Paris Masters is perfectly set up, with a relatively simple equation in play if Murray is to usurp the Serb and become the oldest new No 1 since John Newcombe in 1974.
Should Djokovic fail to reach the final then Murray can leapfrog him if he takes the title. If Djokovic falls before the semi-final then Murray needs only to make the final to reach the pinnacle.
The present incumbent’s form has dipped since he won Roland Garros, but his record at this week’s event is outstanding, in case anyone thinks it is a formality. He has won the title at the Bercy stadium for the past three years.
The ranking situation is clearly on the Scot’s mind and he has tenaciously pursued No 1 by winning across continents in october. First there was the Beijing open, then the Shanghai Masters, and now Vienna, which was a relatively late addition to his schedule.
All that remains now is Paris and the points- rich Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at london’s o2 Arena. ‘I was thinking more about how you are going to win the match rather than what it would mean if you did win it, but obviously it’s nice to win my seventh tournament,’ Murray said of his latest victory.
‘A lot of them have come in the last few months. After the Australian open I struggled a little bit but the last few months have been very good. In some other years, a year like this would easily be enough to be No 1 in the world.’
Fatigue could be his biggest enemy this month, but there was little sign of that as he outplayed the explosive Tsonga up until the middle of the second set, when he missed two points for a double break. Tsonga then discovered one of his periodic upswings to take it to a tiebreak as Murray became increasingly frustrated.
The shootout was desperately close until 6-5, when Murray netted a return on his first match point. He then created a second with a wonderful half-volley and finished it off with an ace, collecting a cheque for €428,000 (£386,000). Murray has a bye in the first round of Paris, where the last two spots for london will also be decided. NICK KYRGIOS has agreed to address his controversial behaviour by adhering to a ‘care plan’ — and could have his eightweek tournament ban cut to three as a result. The punishment was imposed after the Australian’s 6-3, 6-1 defeat by Mischa Zverev of Germany at the Shanghai Masters, when he appeared not to be trying and received a code violation for abusing a spectator. SLOVAKIA’S Dominka Cibulkova became the surprise champion of the WTA Finals when she defeated world No 1 Angelique Kerber 6- 3, 6- 4 in yesterday’s final. ‘ This is the biggest moment of my career,’ said the world No 8.