Djokovic and Murray to meet in World Tour Finals

Ace British tennis player Andy Murray ended his 2016 campaign on a flawless note after defeating Novak Djokovic in straights in the summit clash of the ATP World Tour Finals, assuming the mantle of year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Incredibly the Japanese took 57 minutes to secure a service hold and he didn’t last much longer than that as an inspired Djokovic waltzed to victory just nine minutes later.

Murray had never beaten the man he first played in junior tennis almost 20 years ago from a set down, so the early advantage was crucial.

Andy Murray will give everything he has left against Novak Djokovic on Sunday and hope it is enough.

Now, that means winning the final. “I’ll give it my best effort, the best of what I have”.

Big-serving Raonic had a match point in the final exchanges of a spellbinding three hour 38 minute battle of wills but like world number one Murray’s last 23 opponents found the Briton an impossible riddle to solve.

“The thing I’ll probably be most proud of when I sit down and talk with my coaches is just the way I kept fighting through”, he said. “I had to fight very, very hard”.

Murray then held serve nervelessly, converting his first set point to take a lead that he wouldn’t relinquish. “We’ve played in Grand Slam finals, Olympics and matches like this – it’s been a tough rivalry”.

“But these next few years, obviously I want to try and make them the best of my career”.

The Wimbledon champion needed to win the final match of the season to ensure his place at the top.

Earlier this week, the Scotsman set a tournament record for the longest-ever three-set match when he beat Kei Nishikori in over three hours and 20 minutes.

And the momentum didn’t stop there, the backhand slice proving its worth with yet another break from the first game of the second set.

The Canadian deservedly won the opening set and had Murray in a big hole at 2-1 and a break down in the second.

“He deserves the World No. 1”.

Raonic added of the final: “Andy has been the best player in the world definitely for the last six months”.

“My family have been there from the start and have made sacrifices for me and my tennis, so a huge thanks to all of them”. “But maybe in the important moments I was just a little bit more solid, and maybe had that extra little bit of confidence, which in the past when we played each other maybe he’s had”.

His body had been in dire need of a rest at that point, though, after a grueling summer schedule that saw him win a third major title at Wimbledon as well as retain his Olympic gold medal in Rio, on his way to setting a then-career best win streak of 22 matches.