Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka will be squaring off for the 17th time in their careers when they wrap up their round-robin portion of the World Tour Finals on Thursday afternoon.
Murray leads the head-to-head series 9-7, but Wawrinka has taken three of their last four encounters dating back to the start of 2013. They also faced each other during round-robin action at the 2015 year-end championship, with Wawrinka getting the job done 7-6(4), 6-4. Their only previous meeting this season came in the semifinals of the French Open, where Murray prevailed 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
The Scot, of course, has been absolutely on fire since finishing runner-up at Roland Garros to Novak Djokovic. He has won seven of his last nine tournaments and is a ridiculous 47-3 in his last 50 matches dating back to the start of the grass-court swing, including a current 21-match winning since he lost to Juan Martin Del Potro in a five-set Davis Cup semifinal thriller. The new world No. 1 opened in London with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of Marin Cilic before outlasting Kei Nishikori 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 20 minutes on Wednesday afternoon.
Wawrinka has slumped since capturing his third Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. The third-ranked Swiss suffered disappointing losses in St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Basel, and Paris, and it looked like his relative malaise would continue at the O2 Arena. An opening 6-2, 6-3 setback against Nishikori suggested that Wawrinka was on course for another early exit, but he raised his level dramatically and remained in semifinal contention with a 7-6(3), 7-6(3) victory over Cilic on Wednesday night.
“All I know is if I want to have a chance to qualify, I need to win,” Wawrinka explained. “That’s all I know. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m going to try to play my best tennis to beat the world No. 1. It’s going to be a tough match. He’s playing his best tennis. It’s going to be interesting. I’m happy to play here in front of his home crowd; I’m sure it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
Neither player has secured a spot in the semis. Murray would clinch the No. 1 seed out of Group A with a win and would advance at least in some fashion simply by taking a set. Wawrinka would lock up a place in the semis with a straight-set victory, and if he prevails in three he would need Cilic to snag at least one set off Nishikori on Friday night.
The guesswork, however, will likely be taken out of the equation. Current form, despite Wawrinka’s performance against Cilic, heavily favors Murray. With 200 more points at stake in his quest for the year-end No. 1 ranking and a semifinal spot at the O2 not yet guaranteed, a motivated Murray should treat the home crowd to another win.
Pick: Murray in 2
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WWW?
Murray in two.
Murray over CryBaby Waa-Waah in two.
Happy for Andy to finally reach No. 1 however, I’d like Nole to finish No. 1 this year to keep his streak alive with his 5th year putting him just one behind Federer.
What ‘just one behind Fed’??
If Djoko finishes as YE no.1, he would tie Fed’s five YE no.1. Also he winning the title here means he also ties Fed’s six YE championships titles.
Hey your right Lucky! I forgot! Even more reason for me to want Nole to tie him THIS year. Thanks!
Sampras is alone with six YE No. 1 and those were consecutive. He was awesome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ATP_number_1_ranked_singles_tennis_players#Year-end_No._1
For me, I prefer Murray to be YE no.1 this year, as you never know whether he can do it next year or not, if not now. Djoko has better chances at YE no.1 next year than Murray has imo.
If Rafa can’t find his mojo (or hair), I’d like Nole to pass Fed’s YE No. 1 total next year.
Stakes are high for Andy and Nole 😀 Should be a good final, if we get it.
Andy in 3…rather it be 2 easy sets but I rarely guess Stan right.
I am happy for Andy. It’s good to see someone else step up and provide real competition.
ATP Media Info @ATPMediaInfo 58m58 minutes ago
With 3-0 #ATPFinals group record, @DjokerNole can clinch year-end No. 1 as soon as tomorrow if @Andy_Murray does not qualify for semi-finals
Stanimal in three
Murray in three .
Andy in 3
Hate predicting Stan matches. But il take Murray in 3 hard fought sets.
Murray in 2. Wawrinka has been in mediocre form of late. His unforced errors will be telling in this match. Easy pickings!
likely. Stan was good against Cilic tho.
Andy will do anything to win this..So,Andy in 2 or 3..
Stan in 3
Stanimal.
Looking at their H2H,its prettybclose.Only twice has Murray won in straights.One of those was on grass
I wouldn’t put too much weight into that.
They haven’t played on hc since last year’s WTF (Wawrinka won) which was their only hc meeting in over three years.
Murray’s been a new player since Lendl has come back on board as you know.
Could go three, more likely two IMO but either way, Murray should take this one.
Andy in 3.
Stan appears dialed in.
Andy breaks!
CB clobbering the ball for winners yet Andy 13 of 32 return pts won (42%) compared to #WLB’s anemic 4 of 16 (25%).
#RealTimeWithBillMaher
#DumpTrump
Come on, Andy! He’s got the break of serve – just needs to hold. Yes, 5-3 Andy.
Stan serving. Andy needs to break here and he’ll have his set. He’s got a set point…pfft…deuce. Set point #2 for Andy. Deuce. ah #3 set point, Andy. Dang it, deuce again. Stan finally holds.
Andy’s gonna serve for the set 5-4. Stan will try to stop him. Huge moment.