Andy Murray will know what's coming from Milos Raonic in the World Tour semis, says Mark Petchey
World No 1 produces faultless display to dismantle Stan Wawrinka and reach final four
Saturday 19 November 2016 17:29, UK
Sky Sports' Tennis analyst Mark Petchey felt it was "difficult to find a fault" with Andy Murray''s demolition job against Stan Wawrinka and he will be fully prepared for his semi-final opponent Milos Raonic on Saturday afternoon.
Murray swept into the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Wawrinka on Friday as the world No 1 remained on course for a blockbuster showdown against Novak Djokovic.
Murray brushed aside the Swiss in 86 minutes at London's O2 Arena to ensure he finished top of his group and avoided a last four clash with Djokovic.
Instead, the 29-year-old will face Canada's Milos Raonic in Saturday's semi-finals in what will officially be their seventh meeting of the year.
The Scot has won all of them, although the Canadian was forced to pull out of their Paris Masters clash just last week due to a leg injury.
"Andy has had the better of him but they've had some battles, but I actually think it's a good thing they've played as much as they have," said Petchey. "Not just from the wins Andy's had but also when you face a big server you want to try and find a pattern, you want to try and see the ball toss.
"One of the crucial things is the return and the fact Andy has played him as much as he has this year he is going to have a good understanding of what's coming at him, so I think from that perspective it's very much a positive thing.
"The wins that he's had will lead him to feel much more confident going into it and from our perspective as neutrals, the way that the semi-finals have fallen this gives us the potential of the blockbuster of a final that people we wondering whether we would have.
"There's no question that you can't be complacent against a guy like Raonic with that kind of serve and those groundstrokes. If you give him an opportunity, then he will produce. And he's hungry. He wants to finish the season as number three, but that's something that will prompt him to be as motivated as he can and he'll have learned from those losses as well.
"Andy will perhaps be expecting something a little bit different."
Petchey was delighted with Murray's display as he produced a ruthless performance against US Open champion Wawrinka, which took his winning streak to 22 matches and equalled his career best run earlier this year.
"I thought it was fantastic - a well executed plan," he said. "I think that he struck the ball considerably better than he did against Nishikori and both those two guys Nishikori and Stan can take your time away so that's probably going to be the most pleasing aspect for Andy, that he was able to dictate a lot of the points.
"I thought Stan started the match strongly as well, he really timed the ball well and once he gets his motor up and running he's a difficult man to stop. From Andy's perspective I think he's always self-critical, but I think he will always find it difficult to find a fault with that performance."
Sky Sports commentator Barry Millns was also impressed with Murray's quick-fire demolition job and believes the best four players in the tournament have made it through to the last four.
He said: "Murray was playing with calm authority and playing as a world No 1 today. He didn't have the inner turmoil that he had perhaps in the earlier matches. To do that in under an hour and a half after the battle that he had against Nishikori, well that now is just the perfect tonic because it was short and very sweet and he's brought his game to the boil right on cue for the semi-finals.
"The four guys involved makes for a fantastic showdown after a great week. And who would bet against Andy and Novak from making the final on Sunday."
Check our game-by-game coverage from all matches at the ATP World Tour Finals in London - including both semi-finals on Saturday - on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
