Murray, Nishikori Battle For Group John McEnroe Lead

A week is a long time in tennis – much could change in this sport over course of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Five months, then, is an age. The New No. 1 will today do something for the first time since early June, when he will play an opponent in the Top 5 of the Emirates ATP Rankings – this hasn’t happened since he was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros. 

For Murray, the white heat of competition at The O2 could be about to become a little toastier. While Murray lost to Nishikori in the quarter-finals of this year’s US Open – in what was the last meeting between the pair – that was when the Japanese star was ranked outside the Top 5. That match in New York could hardly have been any closer, with Nishikori prevailing 7-5 in the fifth set. They also played a humdinger of a match in Birmingham at the Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Japan, which Murray won in five sets and almost five hours. More often that not, Murray has beaten Nishikori over the years, with the Brit leading 7-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head.

Victory today would take Murray’s winning streak – which has already brought him titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris – to 21 matches. It would be just one short of the career-best streak he put together over the summer. One of these two could today guarantee his progression into the knock-out stages. Murray’s last appearance in the semi-finals was four years ago, while Nishikori last featured in the last four in 2014. 

Aside from a bold taste in shorts, what unites Wawrinka and Cilic? Wawrinka’s run to the 2015 Roland Garros title will long be remembered for the pink tartan shorts he wore all fortnight, which he draped over the desk at his post-final media conference. And Cilic generated much comment for the colourful pair he had on for his opening appearance at this week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which brought a defeat against Andy Murray. But, to silence your internal fashion critic for a moment, consider how these two have interrupted the Big Four’s domination of men’s tennis in recent years.

For all the Grand Slams that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Murray have gathered over the years, this duo has also made their presence felt. Cilic took the 2014 US Open title while Wawrinka was victorious at the 2014 Australian Open, the ‘lucky’ shorts helped him to that 2015 triumph at Roland Garros, and he won this year’s US Open. 

Bold is a word that would also describe how these two go about their tennis – they are not afraid to go for their shots (as well as to go for their shorts). They aren’t going to melt under the arc-lights. That’s been clear from the way Cilic has been playing of late on the ATP World Tour, with a title in Basel and registering a first victory over Djokovic in Paris. After losing his three round-robin matches in 2014, and then that defeat against Murray on his return to this competition, the Croatian will want to register a first victory at The O2.  

DAY 4 PREVIEW: Andy Murray attempts to begin the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a 2-0 record for the first time since his season finale debut in Shanghai in 2008. The World No. 1 opened with an impressive 63 62 win over Marin Cilic on Monday. Murray plays his second Group John McEnroe round robin match on Wednesday against No. 5 Kei Nishikori, who won the last meeting in five sets in the QF at the US Open on Sept. 7. Murray owns a 7-2 overall FedEx ATP Head 2 Head advantage, winning the other two meetings this season in a 1R Davis Cup match in five sets in Birmingham on Mar. 6 and 61 64 in the semi-finals of the Rio Olympics on Aug. 13. Nishikori’s other win (64 64) came here at The O2 two years ago in an opening round robin match.

Murray enters on a 20-match winning streak and he is trying to hold off Djokovic to finish No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time in his career. Djokovic improved to 2-0 and won Group Ivan Lendl on Tuesday with a 76 76 win over Milos Raonic and he has earned 400 Emirates ATP Ranking points so far. That gives Djokovic 11,180 points on the season, and with Murray losing 275 points on November 28 from the 2015 Davis Cup final, the Serbian is actually ahead in the race for year-end No. 1. Murray will have 11,310 points if he beats Nishikori and will move past Djokovic. Murray’s best result in the season finale is the semi-finals three times, in 2008 Shanghai and here at The O2 in 2010 and 2012. Nishikori is 2-13 lifetime against World No. 1 opponents with both of his wins coming over Djokovic in 2011 Basel (SF) and 2014 US Open (SF). Nishikori, who opened with a 62 63 win over Stan Wawrinka on Monday, is in the running to finish No. 3 for the first time in his career along with current No. 3 Wawrinka and Raonic.

In the evening session, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and No. 7 Marin Cilic battle it out for the 13th time. Wawrinka holds a 10-2 FedEx ATP Head 2 Head record against the Croat, winning the past six meetings. Cilic’s only wins came in 2010. In their last meeting in the final of Geneva on May 21, Wawrinka won 64 76 to capture his first career ATP World Tour title on Swiss soil. In their previous meeting here two years ago, Wawrinka won the final round robin match 63 46 63.

Group John McEnroe Semi-finals Qualification Scenarios (Wednesday)

• Murray qualifies if he defeats Nishikori and Cilic defeats Wawrinka
• Murray also qualifies if he defeats Nishikori in 2 sets and Wawrinka defeats Cilic in 3 sets
• Nishikori qualifies if he defeats Murray and Wawrinka defeats Cilic
• Nishikori also qualifies if he defeats Murray in 2 sets and Cilic defeats Wawrinka in 3 sets

In the opening Group Fleming/McEnroe doubles match, No. 5 Henri Kontinen and John Peers take a 2-0 head-to-head record against No. 7 Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram. Both teams opened with straight-set wins on Monday. Kontinen and Peers enter on a six-match winning streak after winning their biggest career title at ATP Masters 1000 Paris. They have beaten all 7 other Barclays ATP World Tour Finals teams in 2016 (6 since Oct. 14). In the other match, No. 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut meet No. 4 Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez for the third time (tied 1-1). The Spaniards won the first meeting at Roland Garros in June en route to the title before the Frenchmen won a QF match at ATP Masters 1000 Paris. With one win this week or one loss by Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, Mahut will clinch year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. He and Herbert are also competing with Murray and Soares to finish 2016 as the No. 1 doubles team. The Frenchmen lead the race by 175 points.

Group Fleming/McEnroe Semi-finals Qualification Scenarios (Wednesday)

• Kontinen/Peers qualify if they defeat Klaasen/Ram and Lopez/Lopez defeat Herbert/Mahut
• Kontinen/Peers also qualify if they defeat Klaasen/Ram in 2 sets and Herbert/Mahut defeat Lopez/Lopez in 3 sets
• Klaasen/Ram qualify if they defeat Kontinen/Peers and Herbert/Mahut defeat Lopez/Lopez
• Klaasen/Ram also qualify if they defeat Kontinen/Peers in 2 sets and Lopez/Lopez defeat Herbert/Mahut in 3 sets