Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, London

Men’s Semifinal: [1] Andy Murray (GBR) vs. [4] Milos Raonic (CAN)

Murray led their head-to-head 8:3 coming into this match; however, Raonic has come close several times, winning the first set and having chances to close out some matches only to fold under the pressure.  Today’s match was an epic example of Murray’s determination and Raonic’s inability to take that next step against Murray.  Raonic gave it just about all that he had; however, when it mattered, Murray was that much sharper.  He withstood the attack from Raonic to advance to the final 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9); however, has he expended too much energy to get there?  His battle against Nishikori was also physically and mentally draining. Can Murray find that extra reserve tomorrow to win the title?

Men’s Semifinal: [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [5] Kei Nishikori (JPN)

I have to say that I was absolutely disappointed by Nishikori’s effort.  I have never seen him put forth such a poor effort in a match and considering how hard he worked to get to this match, it was quite unexpected.  Granted his chances of upsetting Djokovic were slim, but he did not put up the resistance worthy of the number 5 ranked player.  Interestingly he lost a round robin match last year to Djokovic with the identical score, 1-6, 1-6.  Is Djokovic that dominant or is Nishikori injured? In any event, the battle for number one will come down to the final match of the ATP season between number 1 and number 2.  Who will reign supreme?   Djokovic leads their head-to-head 24:10 and Murray has worked awfully hard to get to the final.

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