2016 ATP World Tour Finals | Discussion Thread

[Haroon786]

With Djokovic's early exit in Paris and Murray's waltz to victory at the same tournament, the helm of the tennis rankings changed for the first time since July 2014 with Murray reaching an unprecedented British feat of becoming the no 1 ranked men's tennis player in the world. However, now that the final tournament of the calendar is upon us, the WTFs await some of the best players in the world and a Djokovic win could potentially see him script an almost instantaneous return to the top, but equally so, an in form Murray would be fancying his chances of claiming a first World Tour Final crown in a year of many firsts for him.

So who will prevail, will it be Murray, Djokovic or a dark horse from the top ten ?

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray is obviously a favourite, but someone like Nishikori or Stan could potentially sneak into the final.

Interested to see if Djokovic's slump continues, or he finds some form, as Murray isn't particularly challenged by the run of the mill players.

 

[The_KING]

Murray has a 11-11 record at ***. I don't think he would win it and neither would Djokovic. I am going for Wawrinka to win it. He has reached the SF in all 3 of his appearances where he was stopped by Federer twice who isn't playing this year so I think he should win it. I can't see Djokovic regaining his form at least till the Australian Open.

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray has a 11-11 record at ***. I don't think he would win it and neither would Djokovic. I am going for Wawrinka to win it. He has reached the SF in all 3 of his appearances where he was stopped by Federer twice who isn't playing this year so I think he should win it. I can't see Djokovic regaining his form at least till the Australian Open.

Stan is an interesting call as he tends to favour grand slams.

Not sure if the Finals are a big enough stage for him to get motivated and go all the way.

Also, I don't think he'll be inspired if he doesn't face Djokovic in the final.

 

[The_KING]

Stan is an interesting call as he tends to favour grand slams.

Not sure if the Finals are a big enough stage for him to get motivated and go all the way.

Also, I don't think he'll be inspired if he doesn't face Djokovic in the final.

He has done well at the finals reaching SFs in all 3 of his appearances so far. Murray has reached the same number of SFs in his seven appearances. I do think Stan would win if he gets out of his group.

 

[Haroon786]

He has done well at the finals reaching SFs in all 3 of his appearances so far. Murray has reached the same number of SFs in his seven appearances. I do think Stan would win if he gets out of his group.

Still can't rule out Djokovic, he's won the last 4 editions and has only lost to Federer in the last 4 years at the Worlds. Also regarding Murray, he has never been in such majestic form at this stage of the season than in previous years other than perhaps 2010 where he won a couple of masters beating Federer, so this is his best chance to go beyond the SFs and potentially claim another big trophy in his collection.

Stan is of course a possibility but the slowish and low bouncing nature of the courts at the O2 favour baseliners who prefer conservative, more consistent tennis than all out aggression such as the brand of tennis that Stan the Man plays.

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray has a 11-11 record at ***. I don't think he would win it and neither would Djokovic. I am going for Wawrinka to win it. He has reached the SF in all 3 of his appearances where he was stopped by Federer twice who isn't playing this year so I think he should win it. I can't see Djokovic regaining his form at least till the Australian Open.

He's started terribly, losing to Nishikori in just 67 minutes. Had one of those days where he seems unable to get anything right.

 

[The_KING]

He's started terribly, losing to Nishikori in just 67 minutes. Had one of those days where he seems unable to get anything right.

He started terribly last year as well but still reached the SF by beating MURRAY and Ferrer in his final two RR matches but I have changed my opinion on Waw. He won't win it. He only seems to play well in best of five set format. Best of three sets isn't his thing which is why he only has one masters 1000.

 

[Muhammad10]

He started terribly last year as well but still reached the SF by beating MURRAY and Ferrer in his final two RR matches but I have changed my opinion on Waw. He won't win it. He only seems to play well in best of five set format. Best of three sets isn't his thing which is why he only has one masters 1000.

You're probably right.
I think the margin of error is too small for him, whereas, in the longer format, there's always more room for a comeback.

 

[Haroon786]

Murray's won his first set vs Cilic, will be his 20th win in a row if he wins.

 

[Haroon786]

Andy Murray won his match vs Marin Cilic 6-3 6-2, he now has gone 20 matches unbeaten, how long can he go on ?

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray might just have hit his peak. Hope it doesn't fizzle out when the grand slams arrive.

 

[Muhammad10]

Raonic looking decent against Djokovic.

 

[Muhammad10]

Raonic was playing well but can't go through now, as he needed a straight-sets win. Djokovic gained a bit of confidence in the tie-break.

 

[Muhammad10]

Djokovic is through to the semis, but Raonic gave him a tough time. A much needed confidence booster for the Serb.

Reckon Nishikori and Murray are also favourites to advance. Not sure who's likely to be the fourth.

Stan was poor, but he may be motivated to prove a point after being completely outplayed by Kei.

 

[Muhammad10]

Nishikori proving a tough challenge for Murray so far.

 

[Muhammad10]

Impressive comeback from Murray.

 

[Muhammad10]

Stan vs Cilic up next. Stan needs to win to remain in contention, while a Cilic victory would take Andy through to the semis.

 

[Haroon786]

21-0 for Murray.

Very tough vs Nishikori but winning is all that matters - may only need to win potentially 2 KOs more to win the finals, albeit one match may be vs Djokovic who he has had a terrible record against in the last 2-3 years.

 

[Haroon786]

Stan leading the match vs Cilic atm having taken the first set in a tiebreaker - can he seal the win with victory in the second tiebreak ?

 

[Muhammad10]

Stan leading the match vs Cilic atm having taken the first set in a tiebreaker - can he seal the win with victory in the second tiebreak ?

Identical tie-break wins (7-3, 7-3) for Stan as he stays in contention and keeps Murray waiting.

 

[Muhammad10]

Raonic beats Thiem to reach the semis.

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray knocks out Stan to go through. He'll face Raonic, while Djokovic will play Nishikori.

A Murray-Djokovic final showdown for the #1 spot is very much on the cards, although I don't see either of them having an easy ride in the semis.

 

[Haroon786]

Murray knocks out Stan to go through. He'll face Raonic, while Djokovic will play Nishikori.

A Murray-Djokovic final showdown for the #1 spot is very much on the cards, although I don't see either of them having an easy ride in the semis.

In Murray we trust, FTW and ending the year as numero uno.

 

[Muhammad10]

In Murray we trust, FTW and ending the year as numero uno.

That would definitely help Andy build up some more self-belief.

Hope to see an epic final between the top two, in shaa Allah.

 

[Haroon786]

That would definitely help Andy build up some more self-belief. Hope to see an epic final between the top two, in shaa Allah.

With Murray prevailing iA.

 

[Muhammad10]

Nishikori loses to Cilic.

Not sure if he's lost some momentum or was just taking it easy in the dead rubber, treating it as match practice for tomorrow's semi against Djokovic.

 

[The_KING]

Nice to see Cilic not leave the tournament empty handed. I expect him to do some damage at least one major next season, probably Wimbledon.

 

[Muhammad10]

Raonic took the first set against Murray. As expected, not a straightforward semi-final by any means.

 

[Muhammad10]

Raonic has looked dangerous today. Hypothetically speaking, if the final were to be between him and Djokovic, I reckon he could trouble the Serb, a la Wawrinka.

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray's experience paying off. The Scot is serving for the match.

 

[Muhammad10]

Two break points for Raonic. Going down to the wire, this one.

 

[Muhammad10]

Raonic breaks! What a cracker of a match! Even better than Murray v Nishikori. :AAG

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray breaks right back. Serves are shaky at the moment.

 

[Muhammad10]

Fourth break in a row! )

Tie-break time.

 

[Abdullah719]

No idea what these guys are doing. Both seem desperate to lose.

 

[Muhammad10]

Epic, epic match. Murray into the final.

 

[Muhammad10]

Djokovic seems to be in better touch today. Meanwhile, Nishikori appears a tad fatigued after yesterday's late match against Cilic.

 

[Muhammad10]

One sided match and Djokovic v Murray will be the final.

Hopefully Murray's stamina will not have been affected too much by today's marathon.

 

[Haroon786]

Can Murray do it again in London this year ?

 

[Muhammad10]

Time for the big match!

 

[Muhammad10]

Two set points for Murray! Great start for him.

 

[Muhammad10]

Looking very possible for Murray to pull this off. He has played well given yesterday's marathon effort against Raonic, while Djokovic is really struggling with his game.

 

[Muhammad10]

Murray just one game away from holding on to the #1 ranking.

 

[Muhammad10]

Brilliant play from Murray to retain the ranking.