Andy Murray missed out on qualification for the knockout stages of the ATP World Tour Finals event in bizarre circumstances despite winning the second of his three group matches yesterday.
Murray’s 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) win over Fernando Verdasco, coupled with an opening day defeat of Juan Martin Del Potro would have been enough to see him qualify for the knockout stages of the event for the second successive year.
However with Juan Martin del Potro beating Roger Federer 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in Thursday's evening match, it left Murray, Del Potro and Federer all tied at the top of Group A with two wins and one defeat.
With only two players able to progress from the group, and with each of them winning the same number of sets, the trio had to be separated by their games won percentage record.
This meant Federer topped the group (44-40) whilst Del Potro (45-43) beat the British No.1 to the second qualifying spot by a solitary game.
After Murray’s earlier victory against Verdasco, the only way he could be prevented from qualifying was if Del Potro defeated the world No.1 in three sets. Unfortunately for the Briton, the Argentinean secured a 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win, which was enough to secure his passage into the semi-finals.
Del Potro was facing the world No.1 for the first time since his excellent US Open Final win in September and said: "I played good tennis today, similar to New York, a little better in some moments of the match”.
It could have been a very different outcome in Group A, had del Potro claimed the second-set tie-break in which he led 5-4 with two serves to come for a straight-sets victory. That would have seen him and Murray go through at the expense of Federer.
However on this occasion it was not to be for the Briton, who can reflect on a fantastic year which saw him become the most successful British male in the Open era as he held the No.2 ranking for three weeks in August. He collected six ATP Tour titles including a title win at the AEGON Championships at Queens in the summer, which was the first time a British player had won the event since 1938.
Meanwhile in the doubles match last night, fifth seeds and tournament debutants Frantisek Cermak and Michal Martinek defeated eighth seeds Mariuisz Frystenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the doubles.
Victory gave Cermak and Mertinak a 2-1 record in Group A as they join Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the semi-finals.
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