Raonic win was 'one of his greatest performances ever,' says former British No 1
Sunday 20 November 2016 18:31, UK
Greg Rusedski and Peter Fleming have questioned whether or not Britain's war horse Andy Murray can physically recover from his epic match with Milos Raonic in time for Sunday's ATP World Tour Final.
Murray remains on course for a dramatic showdown with Novak Djokovic as the world No 1 fought with gritted teeth and weary limbs to stage a dramatic fightback to defeat Raonic in the semi-finals.
The match lasted 18 minutes longer than his marathon victory over Kei Nishikori in the round-robin stage just four days earlier.
Now only a 24th straight win will bring the golden end to his remarkable season, and although former British No 1 Rusedski admits it will be hard, he feels Murray will find a way to lift himself for the final.
"It was an absolutely brilliant that third set from Murray in the way he digs deep and finds a way to get the job done," Rusedski told Sky Sports.
"He breaks another record - 23 matches in a row. It's hard enough doing 10 in a row, but 23 and also against the very best players on the planet. I mean, Raonic was exceptional, he really raised his game.
"But now Murray must show that belief, that desire to come through. He wants to be year-end number one and we have the dream final possibly happening tomorrow.
"He's got to get into those ice baths and recover. He's got 24 hours to get ready, but he will be so motivated. I was so impressed - that was one of his greatest performances ever to come through that in three hours and 38 minutes because he had to be tired in that third set.
"Mentally it is going to be tough for him because he's going to be sore, he's going to be tired and he's got to find a way to lift himself. This is where the experience of coach Ivan Lendl comes in, who has been through these situations before."
Murray has now played two three-hour monster matches and will be back on court on Sunday evening and Fleming thinks "it's asking a lot".
"As usual Andy seems to come up with his best responses when his back is against the wall and it most certainly is now," said former doubles specialist Fleming.
"Let's face it, he'll need to come out quickly and establish himself and hopefully ride the wave."
Check our game-by-game coverage from ATP World Tour Final in London on Sunday as Andy Murray aims to secure the year-end world No 1. Follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis to see how the drama unfolds.
