TENNIS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS:BECAUSE OF a round-robin format that looks like a cross between Duckworth-Lewis and Einstein's theory of relativity, Andy Murray may lose against David Ferrer at the O2 Arena tonight and still go through to the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour finals on Saturday – or he could win and go out. Regardless of the convoluted maths, Murray has a tricky assignment.
While Murray’s form has swung from brilliant to bad in Greenwich this week – he dismissed Robin Soderling on Sunday and folded like a lettuce against Roger Federer on Tuesday – his opponent’s game went the other way. Ferrer survived a first-round drubbing by Federer only to give Soderling a fright in the second round.
The Spaniard is not so much the elephant in the room as the dark horse stretching for the finish line. Not only has he dragged himself back into the top 10 this year for the first time since 2008, but he carries with him a (literally) dark secret. As a teenage prodigy in Javea, Ferrer, now 28, suffered badly from self-doubt and lack of interest, a problem his coach, Javier Piles, rectified in dramatic fashion. “When he didn’t want to work,” Piles said, “I would lock him up in a dark room of two by two metres and I would put a lock on it so he couldn’t get out.”
This convinced Ferrer there were more pleasant ways to get through his teens and he quit to become a construction worker. When he returned to the game he was clearly made for, he had at least gained some perspective. “He’s a really tough player,” said Murray, who lost to him on clay in Rome this year, then again on the dirt of Madrid, in straight sets. “He’s incredibly consistent.”
The ATP, keen not to repeat the confusion of last year when Murray won two matches and went out, yesterday issued a helpful guide to the 10 scenarios that might unfold. The bizarre losing-but-winning options for Murray are: if Federer beats Soderling in two sets and Ferrer beats Murray in three sets, Federer qualifies as group winner and Murray goes through as runner-up; if Federer beats Soderling in three sets and Ferrer wins against Murray in three sets, Federer goes through – and so does Murray; on the other hand Murray could beat Ferrer in three sets but would go out if Soderling beats Federer in two sets.
If it comes down to the number of games won, we might have a repeat of last year’s entertainment when Federer, Murray and Juan Martin del Potro each won two matches – but Murray went out by one game. Murray will not want to leave it to chance this time. All he can do is strive for an emphatic victory – even though he will have the luxury of knowing when he goes on court exactly what he needs to do to get through to the weekend.
On the other side of the draw, Tomas Berdych yesterday all but snuffed out Andy Roddick’s charge. Both lost on Monday, but the Czech was more in control of his game here, pulling away in the end to win 7-5, 6-3.
Guardian Service
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