ANDY MURRAY BOOSTED his chances of appearing at next month’s ATP Tour Finals in London as he saved five match points to eventually defeat Tommy Robredo in the final of the Valencia Open this afternoon.
Murray fought back from a set down to win his second successive title after triumphing in Austria last week. He is now fifth in the Race to London standings and can book his place at the end-of-season event – which pits the top eight players in the rankings against each other – next week in Paris.
Robredo, who was beaten by Murray in the final at Shanghai last month, stormed into an early lead before winning the first set 6-3. Murray’s frustrations were evident as he slammed his racket twice throughout an encounter that lasted almost three-and-a-half hours.
The Scot rallied, however, and saved two match points during a thrilling second set tiebreaker. Robredo showed his nerves by missing a straightforward forehand with victory in his sights before Murray pounced to win the next two points and force the match into a deciding third set.
Again, Robredo – with the home fans willing him on – moved to within a point of victory but Murray stood firm before firing a backhand down the line to settle matters. It would now take an extraordinary set of results in Paris next week to deny Murray a seventh straight appearance at the Tour Finals.
Roger Federer, meanwhile, warmed-up for London by winning his sixth Swiss Indoors title. The top-seed comfortably defeated Belgium’s David Goffin in straight sets on Sunday.
