Andy Murray has never been fitter or more content at this time of the year and, if he wins the ATP World Tour Finals at the 10th attempt, it will be a fitting end to the most satisfying season of his career.
It is easy to take the nation’s best player for granted because he delivers success so regularly, rarely more so than in the run of 19 unbeaten matches that have carried him to four tournament victories in a row, among eight for the year that included Wimbledon and the Olympics, and the place coveted above all others, the world No1 ranking. Murray says holding on to that is not at the forefront of his thinking. It will, surely, be lurking somewhere in quieter moments.
While there will be no Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to block his progress in Greenwich this week, Murray will be tested well enough by Marin Cilic in his first match on Monday night. Thereafter he has equally tough matches against Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori in the round robin games in order to get into the semi‑finals. Beyond that? There is every chance the tournament will get the final it needs.
The notion that Murray has only to remain standing to finish the year as the best player in the world was put into sharp relief fully a day before he steps on court – and the reminder that the season has one demanding week yet to run came, predictably enough, from the player he has displaced at the top of the rankings, Novak Djokovic.
The Serb’s win on the first afternoon, in three sets of contrasting levels over Dominic Thiem, was full of raking forehands, deep and wide, and he showed the sort of spikiness afterwards that suggests he is not in London for the sightseeing. Djokovic may be recovering still from the lingering arm injury that contributed to his exit in the quarter-finals against Cilic last week in Paris, where Murray went on to end his 123-week run at the top of the sport, but there is nothing wrong with his spirit.
Djokovic did not take kindly to the suggestion that a petulant smash of the ball into the crowd after losing the first set on Sunday might have injured a fan. This is a man who means business.
Murray, meanwhile, remains the darling of the media – at least the locals – and does not lack for friends either among his rivals. Several of them believe he has the stamina and the power to hold off what will undoubtedly be a concerted effort by Djokovic to reclaim his No1 spot.
Wawrinka, probably the biggest threat in Murray’s group, said: “It is amazing what he is doing just now, his consistency, his level. He deserves completely to be world No1. It is not only about the last 12 months. It is about the last 10 years. For sure he can sustain it. It is going to be interesting, because he is really close with Novak.”
Nishikori, who is also on Murray’s side of the draw, added: “He is a great player, a great person off the court too. Always been the same guy, a very nice guy, a very hard worker who has been pushing and pushing to get there for many years.”
As for Cilic, he was full of praise for Murray’s achievement – with a caveat. “In order to do that, you have to start 10 years back and Andy has been unbelievable since he came on the Tour. He was at the top of the rankings the last eight, nine years. Also, you could see he was a little bit more motivated when it came to smaller tournaments this year. He really wants to win every match. That has been really good for him the last six months.”
But Cilic warned: “On the other hand, Djokovic hasn’t played much the second half of the year, so he is going to be extremely motivated as well. It is going to be extremely exciting to see how everything is going to play out.”
There is no doubt there is more excitement about this tournament than usual. There have been a lot of tired legs dragging themselves through the concluding days of the season over the years but the fight for the No1 ranking has added much-needed spice.
And, if anyone were looking for more intrigue, it is there in the form of Murray’s former coach Jonas Bjorkman, who is now with Cilic. “Having Jonas on my side now is definitely a big plus but I have to obviously focus on myself and my tennis,” Cilic said.
Cilic won the last time they met, in the final in Cincinnati this year, but Murray has won 11 of their 14 matches. It would be a surprise if he does not make it 12 on Monday night.
