Murray Beats Djokovic To Win ATP Finals; Clinches Year-End Number One Ranking

November 21, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff

Andy Murray emphatically closed the door on a remarkable 2016 season on Sunday, downing Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London to capture the year-end finals and secure his spot as the year-end number one player in the world.

“I’m very happy to win and to be world number one is very special,” said Murray. “It’s very special playing against Novak in a match like this.”

Murray did well to set up a few break points early in the opening set, finally breaking through for the 5-3 lead, and proceeded to serve out the first set 6-3.

With the momentum, Murray snagged two early breaks in the second set as Djokovic’s errors piled up and the Scot opened up a 4-1 advantage. The four-time defending champion Djokovic fought back to 3-4, but that was all he could muster up, as just a few games later Murray shut the door on the straight sets victory to clinch his hold on the year-end number one ranking.

“I would like to try and stay there, obviously,” said Murray. “It’s taken a huge effort the last five, six months to get there.”

“Andy is definitely number one in the world. He deserved to win. He is the best player,” Djokovic said afterwards. “In the decisive moments, I wasn’t able to come back. I played better late in the match but it wasn’t enough.”


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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