Andy Murray books ATP Tour Final spot with dominant display
He may have struggled early in the season, but Andy Murray is back on form at the Paris Masters
London, here I come! That was the message from Andy Murray as the British number one saw off Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in a fortnight's time.
The Scot made short work of Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters' clash on Thursday, winning 6-3 6-3.
The victory not only took the eighth seed through to the semi-final of the French championship – where he'll play Novak Djokovic this afternoon – but ensured he made it through to the World Tour Finals that features the top eight players of the season.
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A couple of months ago Murray's hopes of reaching the lucrative Finals looked slim after his quarter-final exit from the U.S Open saw him drop outside the world's top ten. But Murray has since rediscovered some of the form that won him the Wimbledon Men's Singles title last year. Last month he collected his first title of the year when he defeated Spain's Tommy Robredo in the ATP Shenzhen Open.
The victory over Dimitrov was revenge of sorts for Murray, who lost to the Bulgarian in the quarter-finals of this year's Wimbledon Championships. But on Thursday Murray dominated his opponent from the outset, sending out a forceful warning to his rivals ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena.
"Some of the matches that I've had against the top, top players I had some periods in the match where my level had dropped off a little bit, and the best players capitalise on those moments," he explained later. "I didn't have any of them today. I played well from start to finish."
Murray admitted he'd endured a "a hard beginning of the year", a reference to the back surgery that saw him slip from fourth in the world rankings to 12th in September, as well as his decision to replace Ivan Lendl as his coach with former French star Amelie Mauresmo.
But that's all behind him now and the prospect of playing at the O2 in front of his home fans is one to relish.
"It's nice," said Murray. "It's obviously a great event to be involved in. It's a fun way to finish the year in London, who put on a great event, a packed house every day you play. I'm happy to have qualified."
And to prove his point, and to poke fun at those critics who have expressed disappointment with his performances this year, Murray scrawled 'Bad Year!' on a TV camera before leaving.
Murray is back to his old self.
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