Andy Murray against Novak Djokovic to round off a season they have dominated by playing off for the title of world No 1 — it is the prizefight everyone wants to see.
And that includes Murray himself. The Scot put himself in prime position to keep up his end of the bargain with a gruelling victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Having hauled himself to a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 win in three hours and 20 minutes, Murray acknowledged the allure of his playing Djokovic in Sunday’s final for more than just a potential £1.9million purse.
‘For the tournament, for everyone interested in tennis, that would probably be the perfect way to finish the year,’ he said. ‘For me and I’m sure for Novak, our goals would be to try to win the event. I’m sure that would be the most exciting way.
‘Who knows what will happen in the next few days? I’ve just got to concentrate on winning as many matches as I can and make it as difficult as possible for Novak to jump me.’
There were still different permutations possible from the group stages last night as Stan Wawrinka, who Murray plays tomorrow, tackled Marin Cilic. Djokovic today faces David Goffin, a substitute for the injured Gael Monfils.
Murray, 29, found climbing to the top of tennis’s Everest to claim the No 1 spot hard enough. He may find that staying there is even more difficult.
The strain showed on the Scot in yesterday’s lung-busting contest at the 02 Arena. His constant dialogue with his support box and strange gesticulations, even with coach Ivan Lendl present, was not always an edifying sight.
He admitted later: ‘As the match went on, I was getting frustrated, then becoming sarcastic with myself that I couldn’t seem to hit the ball as clean as I wanted.
‘Kei was dictating a lot of the points and had his chances. He could have won in two sets for sure. On every point there seemed to be rallies of four or five shots. I’ll be stiff and sore tomorrow.’
Murray will not lack for support in his quest, and the size of the crowd who lifted him yesterday is already testament to what he has achieved in his career.
Less than 10 years ago it would have seemed unthinkable that, on a Wednesday afternoon in mid-November, 16,000 people would flock to a tennis match in the UK and be so animated about it.
But Murray has made it happen. Not that he has enjoyed seamless success at the 02. This was, in fact, the first time he has won his first two matches since the event moved to Greenwich in 2009.
By doing so, he extended his winning streak to 21 matches, although it was the first time that he has had the chance to face a top five player since meeting Djokovic in the French Open final.
The round-robin format has not always seemed a good fit. Its forgiving nature can lack the backs-to-the-wall element that tends to extract the best from Murray.
This time there was no equivocation as he strained every sinew to hold off the troublesome Nishikori, who beat him in the US Open quarter-final last time they met.
Murray’s skittish behaviour on-court is part of a package that includes the kind of perseverance and bloody-minded determination that has carried him to the top.
From start to finish you could only admire the competitive spirit of Nishikori, whose ability to work the ball around with his groundstrokes constantly made life uncomfortable for the Scot.
The two players ran each other to a standstill at times, and left both spent at the end.
The most dramatic passage came when Murray fought back from 3-6 in the first-set tiebreak before losing it 11-9.
His sprint and lunge to make a backhand pass off the Japanese’s volley at 5-6 was an astonishing feat of athleticism. He had to work hard to close the second set out at 5-4 after more aggressive court positioning paid dividends.
Nishikori faded briefly when broken for 2-1 in the decider, but pegged back Murray from 5-1 to 5-4 before the Wimbledon champion served it out.
Daily Mail