Andy Murray unsure of recovery for ATP World Tour Finals decider
Sunday 20 November 2016 18:30, UK
Andy Murray has admitted he does not know if he will recover from his marathon semi-final in time for Sunday's ATP World Tour Finals decider against Novak Djokovic.
Murray needed a tournament-record 3hr 38min to beat Milos Raonic in three sets and has now played matches of three hours or more twice in the past four days.
Djokovic, on the other hand, needed just 1hr 9min to beat David Goffin 6-1 6-2 on Thursday and then only 1hr 6min to see off Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-1 in Saturday's second semi-final.
Live Tennis: ATP World Tour Finals
Speaking after an ice bath and a massage, Murray told a press conference: "I don't know how I will feel tomorrow. I'm obviously tired just now because it was a really hard match.
"It wasn't just that it was physically hard; it was mentally a tough match, too. It was pretty stressful.
"Obviously, the body is a bit sore after such a long match, but mentally it was tiring, too.
"It was one of the tougher matches I have played this year. Tomorrow is the last day for a while and I get a break after that. I will just give my best tomorrow. Hopefully it's enough."
Murray goes into the final on the back of a career-best 23-match winning streak and is aiming for a fifth successive tournament victory.
He has not yet faced Djokovic during that run but insists he will not be daunted by the Serb, who has been in imperious form so far this week at the O2 Arena.
Murray added: "In terms of winning against Novak or beating Novak, you can only beat the players that are in front of you. I can't do any more than that.
"I've done that this week. I've beaten three guys in the top five in the world, which some people were not happy that I hadn't won against the top five players."
The winner of the final will end the season as the world's No 1-ranked player.
Watch the final live on Sky Sports 3 HD from 5.45pm, or follow live on skysports.com/tennis and the Sky Sports app.
