Andy Murray Defeats Fernando Verdasco in Three Set Epic

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Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

Home country hero Andy Murray prevailed in strong fashion during his final round robin match on Thursday, outlasting a determined and hard-hitting effort by Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

The 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) victory for the Scot, which lasted three hours, saw both competitors put forth their highest quality of tennis in front of another sold out crowd.

Murray, who began in blazing form, broke Verdasco in the ninth game of the opening set on the strength of winning 81 percent of his first serve points.

The break of serve by Murray at the tail end of the first set became crucial in the sense that it would remain the lone break point conversion by either player throughout the match. Murray would end the affair winning one of 13 break point chances.

Verdasco would score his only break opportunity late in the second during the ninth game. Holding a slim 30-40 opportunity, which was also a set point, Verdasco failed to block back a well-struck Murray serve, which ultimately led to a 5-5 scoreline.

Verdasco's mettle, which had been tested all week, had seen the Spaniard lose all of his round robin matches in three sets.

Maintaining his three-set theme of the event, Verdasco produced a superb tiebreak highlighted by high kicking second serves and devastating forehand winners. 

With the match heading to its deciding set, Murray's anguish of going the distance resonated throughout the supportive crowd. 

Such outbursts as punching his strings and yelling after an unforced error became the dialect of the final set.

What was perhaps the oddest moment of the match occurred when Murray called tournament supervisor Gerry Armstrong to the court to ask him the potential scenarios of how the semifinalists would be chosen. 

With his mind clearly not on the task at hand, Murray became susceptible to further frustration from Verdasco's game.

Clawing and scraping towards a culminating tiebreak, Murray increased his first serve points won to 81 percent, while using his defensive to remain close.

Verdasco, who hit a 136 MPH ace heading into the tiebreak, appeared anxious to capture his first win of the week. 

With the tiebreaker tied at 1-1, Murray produced a marvelous slice forehand passing shot, which Verdasco dumped into the net.

Leading 3-2 in the tiebreak, Verdasco donated a miserable double fault, which all but sealed his fate.

Staring down triple match point at 6-3, Verdasco committed his final unforced error of the match (64 in total), by missing a swinging forehand volley wide.

Falling to his knees in relief, Murray saluted the crowd for their support while embracing the moment of a fine victory.

With the win, Murray improved to 2-1 in Group A action, while Verdasco fell to 0-3 in singles action. 

Although Murray's 39 winners and 28 unforced errors did not showcase his best form to date, the Scot did manage to remain economical during the crucial stages of the affair, allowing for his 65th win of the season to take place.

By contrast, Verdasco's high risk, high reward game of 56 winners and 64 unforced errors broke down when it needed to be much tighter.

The Spaniard will hope to improve his form heading into next week's Davis Cup final in Barcelona.

Murray will now await the winner of tonight's encounter between Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro.

The fate of Murray's potential semifinal appearance is broken down as the following:

In the event that Federer defeats del Potro in straight sets, Federer and Murray would qualify. In the event that del Potro defeats Federer in straight sets, del Potro and Murray would qualify.

Finally, if del Potro defeats Federer in three sets, Federer and Murray would qualify.

With Federer holding a commanding 6-1 head-to-head lead over del Potro, the year-end No. 1 will be quite confident heading into the night clash.

Another critical component to watch out for between the two Grand Slam winners this evening is the revenge factor.

Although Federer leads del Potro by a substantial win-loss margin, his US Open defeat to the Argentine will fuel the Swiss to come out strong in this contest.

Del Potro claimed that he would have to play even better than he did in New York if he was to defeat Federer in London, ultimately displaying the maturity of understanding that his opponent will not be fooled by the same tactics as their previous match.

All in all, you have to hand it to the season finale for providing its fair amount of drama until the closing stages of the event.

Friday's action in London will feature:

Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic, and Robin Soderling vs. Nikolay Davydenko.

Please check back on Friday for continuing daily coverage from the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

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