Murray and Djokovic home in on final showdown

Andy Murray takes on Milos Raonic on Saturday at the ATP Tour Finals with objectives yielding possibilities. If the 29-year-old Briton reaches his first final at the end of season championships, he will give himself the chance of finishing the year as world number one.

Novak Djokovic is seeking a record equalling sixth title at the men's end of season championships. Reuters/Aly Song

If his opponent in Sunday’s final is the defending champion and former world number one Novak Djokovic, then the stakes will be even higher. Murray must beat Djokovic for only the 11th time in 35 encounters to retain top spot.

Murray dislodged Djokovic as circuit supremo in early November. The Serb had reigned for 122 consecutive weeks during which time he had taken his tally of Grand Slam titles from six to 12 including four on the trot starting at Wimbledon in 2015 and culminating at the 2016 French Open.

But since then, Djokovic has drooped and Murray has risen majestically. The Briton won Wimbledon, gold in the singles at the Olympics as well as titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and the Paris Masters.

Murray will head into his semi-final against Raonic with confidence. He bosses their head-to-heads with eight wins in 11 meetings. Six of those victories have come in 2016 and two have been on grass – Queens and Wimbledon – a surface that should favour the big serving Canadian.

"The first set was tight,” said Murray after his win over Stan Wawrinka on Friday in the group stages of the eight man event. “There weren't many chances. In the second set I knew that I'd already qualified for the semis so maybe it was easier for me to play more freely than him.

"Stan is one of the best players in the world. When he's at his best he's unplayable, but I played a solid match. I'm happy to get to the semis."

Djokovic, 29, will take on Kei Nishikori for a place in Sunday’s showdown. Djokovic is seeking a fifth consecutive title and a record equaling sixth overall. On Friday night, Nishikori warmed up in the worst possible way for Saturday evening’s semi-final with a three set loss to Marin Cilic.
 

“Andy is a player who deserves to be at number one and I have much respect for what he has done,” said Djokovic. “We have known each since the early days – I think we were 11 when we first played - and so to see how he has raised his level in the last 12 months is quite extraordinary. All I can say is that Andy deserves to be in the position that he is in at the moment.”

And if Djokovic has anything to do with reconfiguring end of year status – that will be in second place.