Andy Murray Seals Spot At The World Tour Finals After Beating Grigor Dimitrov In The Third Round Of BNP Paribas Masters
Andy Murray only needed one win in the BNP Paribas Masters to secure his place in the season-ending tournament in London. Murray is the fifth in the race to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November, and he sealed his spot after a win over Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the BNP Paribas Masters. It will be Murray's seventh straight appearance in the tournament.
The Scot took control of the match with a 6-3, 6-3, over the ninth-seeded Dimitrov at the Palais Omnisports on Oct. 30. The Scot took the first break, 2-1 after Dimitrov committed two straight forehand errors. He got his second break at 5-3 with the Bulgarian's double fault while serving and ultimately won the first set, 6-3.
In the second set, Murray took the lead, 3-0. Dimitrov scored, 3-1, after being served a bagel, but Murray was in full-control of the match and had Dimitrov running all over the court. The match lasted for 69 minutes. Murray scored 18 winners and seven aces. He had 11 unforced errors compared to the Bulgarian's 29. Murray has qualified and Dimitrov was eliminated in the November's finals at the O2 Arena in London as a result of the match.
Murray was pleased with his performance and said that he didn't really have a hard time during the match. "I played well from start to finish," Murray told the reporters via BNP Paribas Masters' official website. "I made it very difficult for Grigor and hardly make any mistakes at all throughout the match," he added.
Murray will take on the winner of the third round match between Novak Djokovic and Frenchman Gael Monfils, which is currently underway. Murray said that he expects a tough match regardless of who he faces next.
Murray and Djokovic Head-to-Head
Murray and Djokovic had met 22 times on professional circuit. The Serb leads their head-to-head record 14-8. The pair faced each other three times in the current season, and Murray lost in all three matches. Murray and Djokovic's last meeting was in the semifinals of the Beijing tournament.
Murray and Monfils Head-to-Head
Murray has played against Monfils six times, with the Scot leading their head-to-head record at 4-2. The last met at the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, where Murray won, 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0.
