TENNIS:THERE IS sometimes an element of dead men walking in the ATP World Tour Finals as the eight best players in the world fight it out for the last major prize of the season. All of them are feeling the stresses and strains of a long season and it said much for Andy Murray's mental fortitude that he managed to dredge up just enough energy to win his final round-robin match 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 against Spain's Fernando Verdasco.
Even then he could not be sure, after a match lasting exactly three hours, that he was through to tomorrow’s semi-finals. He knew all depended on the match between Roger Federer, the world number one, and Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro who beat the Swiss in this year’s US Open final.
Even the players become unsure in such circumstances. Murray had gone into his match against the left-handed Spaniard knowing if he won in straight sets he was pretty much assured of reaching the last four for the second successive year, whatever happened in the later match. In Shanghai last year Murray defeated Federer in his last round robin match and duly knocked the Swiss out of the competition. It was a win that totally exhausted him, and in the next day’s semi-finals against Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko he was easily defeated.
At least Murray knew on this occasion, assuming he qualified, he had an extra day to recover. Murray had won his opening round robin match on Sunday, the first match of the tournament, against Del Potro, and then lost to Federer on Tuesday, when he admitted that the spark had gone out of him after winning the opening set, and that his legs had became increasingly tired.
He had badly needed to win the opening set against Verdasco, over whom he held a 7-1 head-to-head lead going into this match. The one defeat came in the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, when Murray had been unwell.
Murray knew concentration was off the essence and there were signs of the struggle ahead when he failed to nail three break points in Verdasco’s opening service game, one that lasted eight minutes. Remarkably, Murray only converted one of 13 break points throughout the three sets, and it was fortunate for him he managed to hold his own serve together, even though there were eight double faults.
The first set, lasting not far short of an hour, was all a little painful. The dim lighting off the court hardly helped, increasing the somnambulistic ambiance. Verdasco had his cap pulled hard down, attempting to concentrate completely; Murray went through his usual routine of minor histrionics as he tried to pump himself up for the final push. It was all a little painful, and Murray was clearly delighted when a volleying mistake by Verdasco, on top of the net, gave him the first set.
The second was not much prettier. Verdasco had his one and only break point at 5-4, Murray saving it with a service winner of 132mph. Then at 5-5 Murray had four chances to take a 6-5 lead on the Verdasco serve but could not break through, with the Spaniard winning the tie-break 7-4.
The third set, like the second, was strong on effort and short of real inspiration. Murray must have been cursing himself inwardly for his failure to complete a straight-sets win. One of the Scotsman’s great strengths over the last year has been his ability to go for the jugular when ahead.
Verdasco seemed determined to bring Spain at least one round robin victory, both he and Nadal having lost their first two, but again he could find no way past the Murray serve, and was almost out on his feet in the second tie-break, losing it 7-3. Then came Murray’s long wait. “I thought it was an unbelievable match,” Murray said. “It’s probably the longest three-set match I’ve ever played. And I’m still not definitely in the semi-finals so it would kill me if I didn’t get through.”
