Friday 18 November 2016 13:57, UK
Andy Murray will be looking to extend his winning run to 22 matches and book his place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals when he faces Stan Wawrinka on Friday afternoon.
Murray has won both of his contests thus far in the John McEnroe Group, beating Marin Cilic in straight sets and then Kei Nishikori in a three-set epic.
But he could still be eliminated if he loses to Wawrinka in straight sets and Nishikori beats Cilic in the group's other match in the evening on Friday.
Murray leads the head-to-head 9-7 against the Swiss, and has his sights set on a "perfect final" against Novak Djokovic that would decide the year-end No 1 ranking.
"I think for the tournament and stuff, 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, both of our goals would be to try to win the event. For him, whether that's by beating me, someone else, or, for me, if it's winning against Novak or another player, it doesn't change for us as players."
Murray was pushed to the limit by Nishikori in the longest three-set match in ATP World Tour Finals history, which lasted three hours and 20 minutes.
He acknowledged afterwards that he was a "bit tired", but added: "You tend to feel it more the following day, in terms of stiffness and soreness in the body. I was in the ice bath after the match. That obviously helps make you feel a bit better.
"But 10-12 hours afterwards the body starts to stiffen up. It's positive I get a day's rest.
After losing his first match, Wawrinka kept his hopes of progressing alive with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) victory over Cilic on Wednesday.
"All I know is if I want to have a chance to qualify, I need to win," he said afterwards. "That's all I'm trying to do. I'm going to try to play my best tennis, to beat the World No. 1. It's going to be a tough match.
"We played many times against each other. He's playing his best tennis so far. It's going to be interesting. I'm happy to play here in front of his home crowd. I'm sure it's going to be a great atmosphere."
The only meeting between Murray and Wawrinka in 2016 was in the semi-finals of the French Open, with the world No 1 coming through in four sets.
However, Wawrinka won their round-robin clash at the O2 last year 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
In the doubles match, Henri Kontinen and John Peers will be looking to make it three wins from three when they face world No 1 duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
Hugues and Mahut are already eliminated after two defeats and could slip from the top of the rankings if Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares reach the final.
Kontinen and Peers are already assured of a semi-final place, having won both their matches in straight sets.
Watch the ATP World Tour Finals on Friday from midday on Sky Sports 1 HD or follow on www.skysports.com.
