Tuesday 15 November 2016 15:30, UK
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski says Andy Murray's crunch game against Kei Nishikori on Wednesday will be huge, but believes he will come through it and we will see the dream final.
The Wimbledon champion was tested for much of his opening match at the ATP World Tour Finals but still came out on top, beating Marin Cilic 6-3 6-2 at London's O2 Arena.
Murray took over at the top of the rankings last week, replacing Novak Djokovic, but the year-end No 1 ranking is still up for grabs and could be decided on Sunday if both Murray and Djokovic reach the final.
And Sky Sports Tennis expert Rusedski is sure the British public will get to see the two best players on the planet battle it out on Sunday, although Peter Fleming feels we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.
"I thought [Murray] played great today. He got off to a nervous start and had a few break break points against him early on, but held those and then came through the first set," said Rusedski.
"Again, Cilic lifted his game early on in the second set and then Murray went on from strength to strength so a great start to these championships."
Fleming said: "It was most certainly tough for him. He started off very slowly and certainly appeared to be nervous, as did Cilic. But thankfully for Cilic, Murray never quite got it going. He won the first set and then rolled him in the end."
Although Rusedski thinks Nishikori will be a tough opponent for him, he does feel the top seed will come through the encounter with the crowd right behind him again.
"Nishikori will be tough for him - he lost to him at the US Open where Murray had a good chance to beat him, but lost in five sets," he said. "I just feel like Murray, the number one, playing the big points better, full of confidence and the reception he got was unbelievable.
"He's got more time on the return of serve. He's going to be able to be more aggressive than Stan 'The Man' was and I think he's going to find a way to get through and top this group."
Murray said the court surface slowed up due to the full capacity at the O2 Arena causing more humidity in the air during his post-match interview, but Fleming doesn't think it is a factor.
"I don't think the court surface is a big deal to be honest with you," he said, "All the players here move very well and enjoy this court surface. As Andy said tonight, the court was slower with all the people in it. Might have been more humid, but I don't think it's a big factor - it's about who brings it on the day."
And looking ahead to Wednesday's match against the Japanese star, Rusedski said: "Wednesday is huge for him against Nishikori, but I think he will top his group and we will get the dream final - Djokovic and Murray for the world number one."
But Fleming wasn't looking too far ahead, adding: "The Nishikori match is as close to a 50-50 match as we're going to have this week, so first things first."
Check our game-by-game coverage from all group matches at the ATP World Tour Finals in London - including Andy Murray - on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
