Andy Murray beats Marin Cilic in ATP World Tour Finals opener
Tuesday 21 April 2020 10:56, UK
Andy Murray claimed his 20th win in a row by beating Marin Cilic in straight sets at the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Monday night.
The new world No 1 broke Cilic twice in each set on the way to a 6-3 6-2 victory in front of a packed O2 Arena crowd.
Both players struggled for rhythm in a disjointed opening set and the 6-3 scoreline flattered Murray slightly, but the Scot improved dramatically in the second and was a convincing winner.
Live Tennis: ATP World Tour Finals
Shot of the match
Murray started to find his range in the second set and sent this peach of a winner past Cilic in the third game.
Murray's reaction
"When you start winning matches, you gain confidence. In the important moments, on the break points, I was a little bit more solid than Marin; he had some chances as well. When I had my opportunities, I took them. That's what winning matches does for you."
Expert analysis
Peter Fleming: "It was a slow start from both players. How Cilic must rue not capitalising on the break points he had in game No 1. He never quite turned it around. Murray, on the other hand, once he got a set under his belt, seemed to relax and, by the end of the match, was playing as well as he has throughout the last six months."
Greg Rusedski: "Murray showed why he is the world No 1. It's all about the big points and big moments. Perfect start. It couldn't get any better. He was nervous coming into the match, got off a little bit shaky, was down a few break points, saved them, found a way to close out that first set. Then he went into cruise control and started playing as well as he can."
The match
Murray made a hesitant start and had to save two break points before finally holding serve in the opening game.
He seemed to have settled when he broke the world No 7 in the second, but Murray struggled on serve once again in the third game and was immediately broken back.
However, Cilic was even more out of sorts and a second break for Murray, in the fourth game, proved enough to take the first set.
Murray then began to relax in the second set and his recent form swiftly came back to him. The first four games were shared, but he then broke twice more to go 3-2 and 5-2 ahead as Cilic's error-strewn game unravelled.
Murray will now face Kei Nishikori, who beat Stan Wawrinka earlier on Monday, in his second round-robin match, on Wednesday.
Watch every day of the ATP World Tour Finals, from November 13-20, live on Sky Sports. Full schedule here.
