Andy Murray will end 2016 as the number-one player in men’s tennis after emphatically coming out on top in his much-hyped duel with Novak Djokovic to win the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time.
The Briton produced a scintillating performance on Sunday, befitting of the best player in the world, to triumph 6-3 6-4 and delight the majority of the spectators packed into a sold-out O2 Arena in London.
In extending his personal-record winning streak to a remarkable 24 matches, Murray claimed his fifth title in succession and denied Djokovic a fifth consecutive triumph in the season-ending tournament.
What is more, Murray was able to win relatively comfortably against the man he first replaced at the top of the rankings in Paris a fortnight ago, with a strangely subdued Djokovic undermined by a host of unforced backhand errors.
When the two players last met at Roland Garros in June, victory for Djokovic saw the Serbian complete a career Grand Slam – his position as world number one seemingly more secure than ever before.
However, less than six months on from that meeting, Djokovic has been dethroned by a rival reaching rare heights.
There was a brief wobble from Murray, who saved a match point in his epic semi-final win over Milos Raonic, after he had claimed a double-break to lead 4-1 in set two.
Djokovic’s late rally proved in vain, though, and he faces the task of playing catch-up at the start of 2017, with Murray having cemented his new-found status as the man to beat.Wimbledon
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