Murray Coasts Into London Semifinals

Andy Murray stamped his ticket to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London on Friday, defeating U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2 to finish round-robin play undefeated.

The opening set of the match was on serve until a late break from Murray allowed him to take the first set. He then got two early breaks in the second set to seize full control of the match, saving both of the break points he faced in the second to win in one hour and 26 minutes.

“The first set was tight—there weren’t really many chances either way—but I just managed to get the break late in the set,” said Murray. “And then, in the second set, I had already qualified and Stan obviously needed to win, so it was a bit easier for me to play freer than him in the second set, and that probably helped.”

By way of the world number one’s straight set win over Wawrinka, Japan’s Kei Nishikori finishes second in the John McEnroe Group and advances to the semifinals.

Murray will take on Canadian Milos Raonic, the second-place finisher in the Ivan Lendl Group, in the semifinals while Nishikori takes on the Lendl Group winner Novak Djokovic.

Both Murray and Djokovic finished the round-robin action at 3-0 as they continue to battle for the year-end number one spot. If one of them is to lose their semifinal match, the other will lay claim to the end of the year number one ranking.

The final round-robin match later today will see Nishikori take on Marin Cilic.