Murray Fights Off Ferrer To Impress In O2 Opener

Andy Murray completed a routine straight sets victory over David Ferrer to make a strong start to the group stages at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Despite an early break for the Spaniard in the second set and a small lapse in concentration from Andy, the Brit regained focus and broke back to finish Ferrer off 6-4 6-4.

It was almost a repeat performance for the World No.2 after beating Ferrer 6-4 6-3 in the Paris Masters just a couple of weeks ago, and brings the tally to five consecutive victories over the Spaniard, the last defeat coming in Shanghai last year.

Despite uncertainty over whether Murray would completely sacrifice his place in London to remain fit for the Davis Cup final in Belgium, the Brit has shown he is more than ready to fight for the title after a convincing first round-robin performance.

Four break points came and went before Andy took advantage and broke through Ferrer’s serve, who made eight double faults in the match, to which Andy capitalised on. After the Spaniard went 15-40 down in his last service game, the Brit saw his opportunity to finish the match, leaping to put away an untouchable volley.

Another victory on Wednesday will ensure Murray ends the year as World No.2 for the first time, but it will be no easy feat as he will have to topple either Stan Wawrinka or Rafa Nadal, who face-off tonight at London’s O2.

Avoiding tennis titans Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the round-robin stages will come as somewhat of a blessing for Murray, especially considering his less-than-impressive performance over the Swiss star last year, and gives his chances of qualifying for the knock-out stages a significant boost.

.@Andy_Murray wins at #FinalShowdown, 1 win away from year-end No. 2 Emirates #ATP Ranking. https://t.co/pw6g6pqQJd pic.twitter.com/sNBDz9EcAh

— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) November 16, 2015

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