World No 1 on the line in ATP World Tour Final on Sunday night at London's O2
Wednesday 11 January 2017 18:16, UK
With Andy Murray set to face old rival Novak Djokovic in the ATP World Tour Final on Sunday for the right to be year-end world No 1, we look at their previous encounters.
When Djokovic secured a sixth Australian Open title and a first at Roland Garros to become only the third man to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time, it looked like the Serb would go on and dominate the rest of the season.
He was halfway towards a calendar Grand Slam, a feat only achieved by two men, Don Budge and Rod Laver, the last of which was in 1969.
But then his season unravelled while Murray's took off with success at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics.
When Djokovic was beaten in the final of the US Open by an inspired Stan Wawrinka, Murray seized his opportunity to chase down his arch-nemesis for top spot by winning back-to-back titles in China followed by more success in Vienna before landing the coveted world No 1 spot at the Paris Masters.
And now the two men will meet at London's magnificent O2 Arena on Sunday when they go head-to-head for the right to end this season as year-end world No 1.
Murray will enter the final just a mere 130 points ahead of Djokovic, who had spent 122 consecutive weeks as No 1 from July 2014, but the Serb will be out to regain top spot.
Djokovic holds a 24-10 win-loss record against the Scot and has lost only three times in their last 16 meetings dating back to the Wimbledon final in 2013. This will be their first meeting since the French Open final in early June.
Here, we delve into the archives and look back at their most memorable matches.
Having lost to Roger Federer the previous year and in New York two years earlier, Murray was looking finally to prove he could cut it in a Grand Slam final.
The Scot's wretched record in major finals continued, however, as he went down in straight sets to an inspired Djokovic, who began the season by winning 43 consecutive matches and ended it with three major titles.
"Djokovic not only broke the Nadal-Federer stranglehold on the game's major trophies, the 23-year-old Serbian made a compelling case to be admitted to their elite company," said the Sydney Morning Herald.
Murray had the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on Djokovic the following year in Melbourne, and he almost did it during an epic encounter that lasted four hours, 50 minutes.
Having just appointed Ivan Lendl as his coach, Murray fought back from losing the first set to win the next two, but defending champion Djokovic recovered to clinch victory and give Murray the unwanted tag of being the first man in the open era to be eliminated in semi-finals at four successive Grand Slams.
Just a month after suffering a heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss to Roger Federer, Murray enjoyed what was then his finest run and it came on the All England Club grass, beating Djokovic to guarantee himself a medal at his home Olympics. Murray lapped up the attention from the raucous crowd before going on to exact revenge against Federer in the final to win gold.
Murray ended Britain's 76-year wait for a Grand Slam men's singles champion following an epic victory that took four hours, 54 minutes to achieve.
The Scot sank to his knees and covered his mouth in disbelief at what he had achieved following four failed attempts to win a Grand Slam final.
"When I realised I had won, I was a little bit shocked, I was very relieved and I was very emotional," Murray said after recovering from letting a two-set lead slip away to win in five.
Djokovic underlined his physical superiority as he recovered from a set down to win in four sets and become the first man in the Open era to win three Australian Open titles in a row.
Again the match was a dogfight as the first two sets alone ran for well over two hours. One crucial moment came at 2-2 in the second-set tie-breaker, when Murray stopped in the middle of a second serve to catch a white feather as it floated to the ground - and then double-faulted, giving Djokovic an opening that he gratefully accepted.
"I thought it was a good idea to move [the feather]," Murray said "Maybe it wasn't because I obviously double-faulted. No, you know, at this level it can come down to just a few points here or there."
The match that will define Murray's career ended with one of the most dramatic matches ever seen in a Grand Slam final. The Scot had fought back from a break down to win the second set and recovered from a similar deficit in the third to leave himself serving for a place in the history books.
He looked to have done it when he moved to 40-0 but Djokovic saved all three match points and had three break points of his own before finally netting a backhand on Murray's fourth chance.
"Mentally, that last game will be the toughest game I'll play in my career," said Murray after he had finally consigned Fred Perry's status as the last British man to win a Wimbledon singles title to history.
Djokovic won all four of their matches that year as Murray struggled to regain form and fitness following back surgery.
It was all to play for after they shared the first two sets in New York, with Murray bludgeoning forehands like never seen before, but he let the momentum slip early in the third set and was never able to regain it as he faded physically.
The contest began at 9.43pm local time in New York and the clock was well past 1am by the time it had finished.
Djokovic beat Murray to win fifth Australian Open title, but the four-set victory was punishing and painful on both players.
The Scot had his chances and for two-and-a-half-sets both players went at it hammer and tongs, but Murray was eventually outfought, and seemingly outkidded, as the Serb looked down and out after going a break down in the third before miraculously reviving and going on to win the battle.
Murray's hopes of winning a third Gram Slam title were crushed again by Djokovic after the world No 1 held off a spirited fightback to book his place in the French Open final.
Murray had clawed back the third set before play was suspended at 3-3 in the fourth and the British No 1 picked up where he left off the following day by breaking in the 11th game of the fourth set to send it to a fifth.
Djokovic, however, was relentless in the final set, breaking twice to clinch victory, sealing his win with an ace, although he was beaten by an inspired Stan Wawrinka in the final.
"This is one of the toughest matches we have had, no doubt about that," said Djokovic. "We tend to run each other around and play cat and mouse game, and it's tiring. It's exhausting to play him."
Finally, an eight-match losing streak that dated back to Murray's 2013 Wimbledon victory was snapped.
Murray converted his fifth attempt at match point to end a two-year drought against Djokovic just hours after his coach Amelie Mauresmo gave birth.
The Scot dominated the match from the baseline to claim an 11th Masters title.
Murray racked up five losing finals at the same Slam - an Open Era record - and appeared like a man with his mind elsewhere with fatherhood imminent.
The match itself did not live up to the occasion and Djokovic made it look all too easy on his favourite surface, equalling Roy Emerson's record of six Australian titles.
Murray said courtside: "I feel like I've been here before. Congratulations Novak, six Australian Opens, an incredible feat, and incredible consistency the last year."
Murray won only five points in the first 20 minutes in a slow-burning contest in which the Scot racked up a number of unforced errors.
Djokovic, 171-1 in his career when two sets up, made it 172 despite Murray taking the third to a tie-break.
Murray, who split from his coach, Amelie Mauresmo, sent out a warning ahead of the French Open by snapping Djokovic's 17-match winning streak against Top 10 opponents.
In a repeat of the Madrid Open final, which Djokovic won, Murray became the first British man to win at the Foro Italico since Patrick Hughes in 1931 and celebrated his 29th birthday in fine style, despite the Serb being fatigued following an epic semi-final against Kei Nishikori.
The key for Murray was winning 82 per cent of points on first serve, as Djokovic lost for just the fifth time in nine months while the win was only Murray's 10th in 33 matches against the Serb.
Murray suffered his eighth major final defeat as Djokovic finally took the Roland Garros title and with it his place in the highest pantheon of tennis greats.
The top-ranked Serb became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four trophies at the same time after a convincing victory in his fourth Paris final, despite dropping the opening set.
It was an all-too familiar feeling for Murray as high hopes gave way to helplessness in the face of Djokovic's brilliance, with five of his final defeats coming against the man he first faced as an 11-year-old.
The Scot, the first British man in 79 years to reach the final in Paris, fought for all he was worth in the fourth set but ultimately he had no answer.
"It's going to take a long time for it to happen again," said Murray. "Everyone here is extremely lucky to see it. Me personally, being on the opposite side, it sucks to lose the match but I'm proud to be part of today."
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