LONDON — In what is shaping up to be the new top rivalry in tennis, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray whacked the bounce out of the ball for three more grueling sets Wednesday at the ATP Finals. Advantage, Djokovic. The top-ranked Serb got the big break when he needed it late in the third set and held off Murray 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the O2 Arena. “I think both of us probably see each other's games pretty well. Especially this year, because we've played so much,” said Murray, who beat Djokovic to win his first major title at the US Open. “But the one thing I would say is, this year I think both of us probably have seen things in each other's games probably improve, and that's why there's a lot of long rallies, and the matches are incredibly tight.” Despite the win, Djokovic still hasn't advanced to the semifinals at the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world. But he can make it through if Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeats Tomas Berdych in the other Group B match later Wednesday. Djokovic is now 4-3 against Murray in 2012, with his biggest win coming in a five-setter in the Australian Open semifinals. But Murray had won two of the previous three, including in the semifinals of the Olympics and in the US Open final — another five-setter. Overall, Djokovic now leads the third-ranked Murray 10-7 in head-to-head meetings. “I'd say our strengths are similar in terms of what we do well on the court,” Murray said. “Our return game has been very strong for the last few years. Our movement, as well. That's why there's a lot of normally long rallies.” Murray looked unbeatable at the start Wednesday, breaking Djokovic in the first game and losing only three points on his serve in the first set. But Djokovic was able to convert break chances in each of the next two sets, and then for a third time at 5-5 in the final set to serve out the match. Djokovic still didn't have an easy time as Murray quickly earned two break points in the final game. But a forehand smash and a service winner erased the danger before a pair of errors from Murray ended the match. “The last two minutes of the match probably is what decided it,” Murray said. “He broke from 15-40, and then I had 15-40 next game and didn't break. So that was the moment that decided the match.” On Tuesday, Spain's David Ferrer extending his winning run to 11 matches with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Juan Martin del Potro. Ferrer arrived at London's O2 Arena in the best form of his life after winning his first ATP 1000 event, the highly-regarded tournaments which are just one level down from a Grand Slam, at the Paris Masters Sunday. The 30-year-old's triumph in Paris came a week after he won the Valencia Open and he walked onto court against del Potro with a Tour-best 72 match wins, as well as seven ATP titles, to his name over the last year. Ferrer had to dig deep to maintain that fine form, but he was able to do just that as he subdued former US Open champion del Potro in two hours and 16 minutes to secure a victory in his opening Group B match at the season-ending tournament. The world number five, who finished as Tour Finals runner-up in 2007, had demolished del Potro in straights sets in their last meeting at Wimbledon earlier this year, but he found it much tougher this time. Finals to stay in London The ATP said its season-ending Finals will stay in London for an extra two years to 2015. The ATP Tour finale for the top eight players in the world is in the fourth year of a five-year deal to play at the O2 Arena in the British capital. ATP President Brad Drewett said: “The excitement created by our season-ending tournament in London has been fantastic, with fans, players, media, and commercial partners all supporting the event in an unprecedented manner.” The ATP Finals came to London in 2009 after four years in Shanghai. Previously, the tournament was staged in cities including Houston, Frankfurt and New York. — Agencies
