Andy Murray handed tough draw in ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena as he bids to end 2016 as world No1
Newly-crowned world No1 Andy Murray will open his ATP World Tour Finals campaign at London’s O2 Arena against Croatia’s Marin Cilic as he bids to end the year top of the global rankings.
Double Olympic gold medallist Murray, who has never won the season-ending event, has also been drawn in the same group as world No3 Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori.
Defending champion and five-time winner Novak Djokovic spent 122 consecutive weeks at world No1 and is the man with the power to usurp Murray at the standings’ summit. He has been pitted against Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem in the round-robin stage of the tournament.
Djokovic, who has never lost against any of his scheduled opponents, will feature in the opening singles match on Sunday, while Murray will do battle with Cilic the following day.
Murray’s assistant coach Jamie Delgado, meanwhile, insists fatherhood has been a major driving force behind the 29-year-old’s immaculate 2016, which has seen him win Wimbledon and retain his Olympic crown.
The Scot became a father for the first time in February. Delgado said: “So much has happened off the court which has really helped his calmness when he’s on tour.
“It can be quite stressful, all the tournaments he plays and all the pressure he is under.”