Murray ends year as world number one, extends streak

In the five months following Murray’s loss to Novak Djokovic in the French Open, Murray did not face Djokovic, who was suddenly in a slump, nor did he beat a top-five player during his unbelievable stretch that saw him win titles at, in order, Queen’s, Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics, Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Bercy.

Murray moved to within touching distance of victory with another break that took him to 4-1, but Djokovic refused to give in and responded immediately with a break of his own before pulling it back to 4-3.

However, knowing the great man, Djokovic will find a way to get back to his best before the start of next season.

On this evidence the Scot may enjoy his new status for some time.

Murray’s previous vic- tories against Djokovic had come when he successfully trod the fine line between aggression and patience.

“We’ve played Grand Slam finals and Olympic finals before, but I am very happy to win”, he told the BBC.

“It’s very special, it’s something that I never expected”.

It was the second marathon victory of the week for Murray, who extended his match winning streak to 23.

Djokovic also bested Murray in the French Open final this year.

He played with far greater objective than Djokovic, who made 30 unforced errors in an unusually erratic performance.

He was gracious in defeat.

“Andy is definitely No.1 in the world”. He is the best player and deserved to win.

The Serbian was replaced by Murray at the top of the rankings a fortnight ago, but had the opportunity to hit the summit again as the two went head-to-head in the last match of the 2016 season, with the ATP World Tour Finals crown also up for grabs.

Sunday’s clash hardly needed hyping.

It is the first time the final match of the season will decide who is ranked number one.

It had never happened before in the tournament’s history.

Murray is 1-0 so far, and plays his second match on Wednesday against Kei Nishikori. Murray had 15 unforced errors and 13 winners.

Djokovic looked inhibited and hesitant.

Nishikori serving and down 3-0 in the first set, and it’s understandable if the Japanese is a bit exhausted after his loss to Murray, but he provides little fight here.

Raonic led by a set and a break, twice broke serve to stay alive in a gripping decider, then saw a match point come and go in the tiebreak as he, like everyone recently, found Murray an impossible riddle to solve.

Having played consecutive three-set matches, Nishikori was running on fumes before the match even began and his concentration wasn’t helped when an intruder tried to run onto the court before the start of the second game of the first set.