2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals: Match Preview – Andy Murray versus David Ferrer
Local favourite Andy Murray takes to the court for the third time this week, as he gets ready to play his last round robin (RR) stage match. Playing in the evening session at the O2 Arena, London, today, Murray takes on the Spaniard
David Ferrer.
Ferrer, who has lost both his previous round robin stage matches meets Murray in a must win clash tonight. Ferrer is currently plagued by a 0-2 mark in the event having lost his match to Roger Federer on Sunday and then to Robin
Soderling on Tuesday. Ferrer failed to win a single set in both matches though he did put up somewhat of a fight against Soderling.
Having qualified for the finals once before in 2007, this is the Spaniard’s second qualification for the season finale. His debut at the World Tour Finals was memorable when he moved to the semis with a 3-0 win-loss mark after
doing away with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Richard Gasquet in the round robin stage. He defeated American Andy Roddick in the semis to meet eventual champion Roger Federer in the finals.
Ferrer came into the event with two titles under his belt, one at Acapulco and then one at Valencia. He was also the finalist at the Rome Masters, Buenos Aires and Beijing. He currently enjoys a win-loss mark of 60-23 for the season.
He gained qualification for the season finale alongside Roddick and Berdych during the BNP Paribas Masters earlier in the month.
While talking about his match with Andy Murray Ferrer said, “I am with confidence. I finish the season Top 10. I don't have any problem physical, mentality. I know with Andy [Murray] will be a very difficult match. I fight
everything. I fight, and with Andy too.”
It is good that Ferrer is confident about his match with Murray because Murray is no pushover this season. Qualifying for the season finale for the third year in a row, Murray comes into the event with two Masters Titles, one at
Toronto and then at Shanghai. On both occasions, he dismissed Swiss legend Federer to bag himself the title. He was also the finalist at the Australian Open where he once again met Federer. Enjoying a win-loss mark of 45-17 this year, Murray ranked at the
fourth position in the ATP rankings until the beginning of this month. However, he was displaced by Soderling when the latter won his maiden title at the Paris Masters two weeks ago. Murray now finishes the season at fifth position in the ATP rankings.
Although his opening into the event was superb, his excitement was soon dialled down when he lost his second match in the RR stage. Enjoying a classic straight set win over Soderling on Sunday, Murray fell prey to Federer on Tuesday
coming down to a 1-1 mark in the event. However, with Federer winning his match against Soderling earlier today and moving into the semis, Murray just has to defeat Ferrer to qualify for the semis in the 2nd position.
This will be the fifth time the local meets Ferrer on the courts. In their previous meeting at the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters, Ferrer defeated Murray to lead their head-to-head score by 3-1. However, the only time the
two met on a hard court, Murray defeated Ferrer. Although Ferrer has played more matches this season, Murray enjoys a 1-0 lead against him on the hard courts. Murray also has the home court advantage, which he always manages to capitalize on.
Based on these statistics it is difficult to predict a clear-cut winner. Will the Brit win one over the Spaniard to move into the semis or will Ferrer finally clinch his first event win?
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