Andy Murray gave his chances of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals a major shot in the arm by winning the Vienna Open. He beat David Ferrer in the final, and in doing so overtook the Spaniard and Milos Raonic in the Race to London. Murray had a relatively trouble-free week, easing past Vasek Pospisil, Jan-Lennard Struff and Viktor Troicki in straight sets. However, the 2013 French Open finalist was an altogether tougher proposition, having tasted success against his rival at the Shanghai Masters the previous week.

 

Murray was looking to avenge that defeat, but true to form, the World No.5 made the better start, taking the first set 7-5. Murray came to back into it though, and his aggressive groundstrokes were making inroads, helping him to convincingly secure the second set 6-2. The decider was a see-saw affair, with the man from Javea seemingly in the driving seat after going 5-3 up. Murray refused to lie down though, and showed tremendous resolve to reel off four successive games to take the title, and with it his 30^th career singles crown. In the process, he pushed himself into the last available spot for the end-of-year showpiece event in London. However, the margins are very fine. He lies just 110 points ahead of Ferrer and a further 25 in front of Canadian Milos Raonic. Grigor Dimitrov is another young starlet who has wowed the crowds this year and he could still be in with a shot. However, he has to make up the 330-point deficit to Murray (while also bettering Raonic and Ferrer’s results).

In Moscow and Stockholm, other contenders for the season finale next month were battling it out and hoping to accrue the necessary ranking points. Dimitrov and Tomas Berdych were involved in an epic battle in the final of the Swedish tournament. The Bulgarian gained the upper hand in the first set, before Berdych slowly wrestled control away from his opponent, eventually securing victory in two hours and twenty-one minutes. The Czech currently occupies seventh position and is 220 points ahead of Murray. Ahead of him (and the latest to qualify) is Marin Cilic, who in some ways has had the greatest year of everyone. After sewing up the US Open title in stunning fashion, there is increased focus from both opponents and commentators on the Croat, and, so far, he seems to be coping well. Cilic has put his upsurge in form down to the confidence instilled in him by Coach Goran Ivanisevic and the increased belief in his own ability to win a Grand Slam. Stan Wawrinka’s win at the Australian Open in January also showed that the Grand Slams are not solely reserved for the ‘big four’. Cilic displayed all of his good traits in the Russian capital, while profiting from the shock exit in the first round of his direct rival Raonic, who was beaten in three sets by Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis. After tough matches against Evgeny Donskoy and Mikhail Kukushkin, Cilic faced Argentinian and World No.14 Roberto Bautista Agut, who is another player that has made great strides this season. However, he posed no real problems, and the winner at Flushing Meadows sealed the win 6-4, 6-4, becoming the fifth player to qualify after Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

This week, the show has rolled on to Valencia and Basel. In Valencia, Berdych, Ferrer and Murray will battle it out, while the Swiss public will undoubtedly be hopeful that their darling Roger Federer can emerge victorious at his hometown event. He will face stiff competition though from Nadal, Wawrinka, Raonic and Dimitrov, among others.

So, despite the fact that the season is drawing to a close, there are still many scores to be settled. Who will have the last laugh at the 0₂ Arena?

Alex Bowmer