London: Neither form nor format will matter to Andy Murray when it comes to playing against the best players who have assembled for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals here.
Murray started off well here with an emphatic 6-4, 6-4 win over David Ferrer in their opener on Monday. But Great Britain’s top player was at the receiving end against former world number one Rafael Nadal who sunk him 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and a half on Wednesday.
Later on Wednesday, Wawrinka eased his way to a straight sets win over Ferrer to throw open the group. A loss by either player will see them make an early exit, while only a win will earn the winner the second place for the last four stages of the competition.
Ironically, for all of Murray’s wins across the globe, he is yet to defeat the Spaniard in London. A win on Wednesday would have also assured the Scot a World No. 2 season-ending finish for the first time in his career. With a Wimbledon title, Olympic gold medal and a flawless Davis Cup record, Murray has been difficult to beat on home soil.
However, he is looking to reach the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the first time at the O2 Arena, where his best result has been two semi-finals in 2010 and 2012.
After five meetings between Nadal and Murray in London, the record stands at a perfect 5-0 in favour of the Spaniard. Three of these wins came at Wimbledon and Wednesday’s win was the Spaniard’s second on the indoor courts of the O2 Arena.
“Obviously I lost comfortably to Rafa and I could play him in a couple days’ time and it could be a different story. I’m sure Novak [Djokovic] feels the same way about his match with Roger [Federer]. I think all of the players know that. Yeah, I’m not trying to finish second in the group. I’m trying to win every match that I play. I hope that’s how all of the players view it,” Murray said.
“Some people might have different opinions. That’s fine if you have a different opinion to me. I don’t think it’s right to tell me that the format is wrong, that I would rather finish second than first, when that’s not true in my mind,” he added.
Murray’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals now will solely depend on the outcome of his third and final qualifying round match against Wawrinka on Friday. A week before Great Britain’s historic Davis Cup final in Ghent against Belgium, Murray is attempting to reach the semi-finals for the first time in three years at the O2 season-ender.
“I’ve never looked at any of the matches that I need to just win a set and get through. You certainly don’t want to lose to one of the guys that you’re competing against in the biggest events for the biggest titles in the sport. I’m obviously disappointed with the way the match finished,” Murray said.
“Right now it comes down to Stan [Wawrinka] on Friday,” he added.
