Andy Murray beats Stan Wawrinka at ATP World Tour Finals to reach semi-finals
British world No 1 will play Milos Raonic on Saturday afternoon
Saturday 19 November 2016 13:10, UK
Andy Murray kept pace with No 1 rival Novak Djokovic as he booked his place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals with victory over Stan Wawrinka at London's O2 Arena on Friday afternoon.
Having beaten Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori, Murray only required a set against Wawrinka to guarantee his passage through to the last four of the season-ending event for the first time since 2012 and he got the job with the minimum of fuss in the opening set before going on to complete a 6-4 6-2 win.
The comprehensive victory helped him equal his career-best winning run of 22 matches he set earlier this summer and book a clash against Milos Raonic and the Canadian's foreboding serve on Saturday afternoon.
Shot of the match
He might not have won the match, but Wawrinka took the plaudits for this shot of the match. A deep forehand winner which swerved and dipped before landing smack bang on the baseline.
Murray's reaction
"The first set was tight - there weren't really many chances either way - but I just managed to get the break late in the set. And then, in the second set, I had already qualified and Stan obviously needed to win, so it was a bit easier for me to play freer than him in the second set, and that probably helped."
Expert opinion
Greg Rusedski: "So impressive from Murray. By far his best match so far in the tournament. The first set was nip and tuck, he gets it, and then just goes from strength to strength.
"A brilliant performance from Murray and it also ties his longest match-winning streak this year: 22 in a row. And it looks like he is going to beat that in the semis against Milos Raonic. Everything is coming into perfect shape for Murray. He needed to win quick to save his energy for the semis, and that is what he has done."
Peter Fleming: "It was an encouraging performance. It was the sort of performance that you would expect the world No 1 to come up with when his back is against the wall. And it was today, because a lot of people thought Wawrinka could punch holes in his defences, and Murray answered. He almost said, 'Ah ah, not today, pal'."
The match
Murray knew he would face the prospect of elimination if he lost in straight sets and Nishikori beat Cilic later on Friday, and both players made a rapid attacking opening to the match, striking the ball cleanly in another intoxicating atmosphere at a capacity O2 Arena.
The Scot needed three hours and 20 minutes to see off Nishikori, but looked remarkably re-energised during the opening set. Murray was motoring on serve and equally aggressive in attack. Few were surprised when he grabbed the first crucial break of serve in the sixth game.
Wawrinka came out knowing that a straight-sets win over Murray would maintain his record of always reaching the last four. He was forced to save three set points when serving to stay alive, but it didn't take long before the Wimbledon champion served it out to seal his semi-final spot.
World No 3 Wawrinka looked dispirited and was broken in the opening game of the second set and then again in the third, by which time he had lost his composure by dismantling two of his rackets in pure frustration.
It wasn't long before Murray completed a masterclass of a performance in an hour and 26 minutes to move back above Djokovic in the race the end the season as No 1.
Check our game-by-game coverage from all matches at the ATP World Tour Finals in London - including the semi-finals on Saturday - on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
