Briton secures year-end world No 1 spot with straight-sets win at London's O2
Monday 21 November 2016 06:25, UK
A rejuvenated Andy Murray proved to be the dominant force on planet tennis by upsetting the odds to beat Novak Djokovic to win the World Tour Finals for the first time and end the year as world No 1.
In a fitting climax to the season, the top two players went head-on for the year-end world No 1, and it was Britain's finest who stopped Djokovic from securing his fifth successive title at the O2 Arena with a stunning 6-3 6-4 victory.
Murray's victory in London also gave him his fifth title in a row following triumphs in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris and ninth of the season.
Djokovic, who was aiming to match Roger Federer's record of six titles, had perfect preparation for the final, but Murray was simply unplayable as he shocked his long-time rival in the winner-takes-all shootout to extend his winning run to 24 matches.
Murray and Djokovic showed why they're ranked one and two in the world with an exhibition of winners from all angles in Sunday's final...
"It's a very special day, playing against Novak in a match like this. We have played Grand Slam finals, Olympics and matches like this. It has been a tough rivalry. I have lost many of them, but happily I managed to get the win today and to finish the year No 1 is very special. This is something I never expected."
Greg Rusedski: "Unbelievable. What a performance, 24 matches in a row, against the world No 2, finding a way to get it done. Physically, he must have been hurting from the first ball to the last ball. Only the 17th man since the rankings started to be end-of-season world No 1. What a moment."
Peter Fleming: "As ever, Novak Djokovic, one of the great sportsmen in defeat. But for Andy Murray, what a moment. All the hard work he has put in, all the suffering he has gone through, being the nearly man for so long, and for his entire camp, what a thrill: world No 1 at the end of the year. You can never take that away."
Murray had not played Djokovic since losing the French Open final in June, his 24th defeat in 34 meetings with his former junior rival.
Djokovic, who came into the tournament on his worst run of form for several years, certainly appeared to have the spark back after demolishing Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Murray, who provided his home crowd with another trademark 'tennis epic', spending three hours and 38 minutes quelling the ferocious firepower of Milos Raonic, somehow recovered to walk out to a fever-pitch atmosphere at the O2 Arena.
He made a composed start too, looking comfortable on serve and driving his opponent back behind the baseline. The steely Serb was forced to repel Murray's two break point chances during a lengthy sixth game.
Murray needed one last push at the end of a stunning second half to 2016, when he has won Wimbledon and the Olympics before topping the rankings for the first time, and he pummelled the nervous Serb's backhand to make the first move in a stylish eighth game.
Djokovic was meant to be the fresher man and, after a relatively lean second half of the year, was odds-on to snatch back top-dog status in Murray's backyard, but an array of unforced errors as well as an inspired Scot at the opposite end of the court, helped him to break at the start of the next set.
He established a 4-1 lead before Djokovic attempted a comeback by salvaging one of the breaks back as the tension mounted in a fever-pitch atmosphere.
Murray successfully served out the match, but only after a nervy finish on his third championship point, to send the home crowd into raptures and end a remarkable season on top of the world.
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