London: Andy Murray will look to maintain his unbeaten record on home soil this year with victory at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Scot has become the third player to qualify for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 4-11 November. Murray, who reached the quarter-finals at the US Open, secured his place at the season finale for the sixth straight year.
“I’ve played some of my best tennis in front of my home crowd at Queen’s and Wimbledon this year so hopefully I can keep up that run of form at The O2 in November,” said Murray. “It will be great to compete in London again for the first time since winning Wimbledon. It’s a key focus for me for the rest of the season and I’ll do everything I can to give myself the best chances of winning it. The atmosphere there is always special – to win it would be the perfect way to finish the season.”
The 26-year-old Murray joins Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic as the first singles players to qualify for the elite eight-man event. The trio currently leads the Emirates ATP Race To London standings.
Dunblane-born Murray has a 12-0 record on home soil this season, preceding his historic Wimbledon triumph with victory at the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club. The Scot was also a finalist at the Australian Open and collected titles at the Brisbane International and the Sony Open in Miami.
Murray is a three-time semi-finalist at the season finale, reaching the last four in Shanghai in 2008 (l. to Davydenko) and London in 2010 (l. to Nadal) and 2012 (l. to Federer). He is bidding to become the first British player to win the season finale.
US Open doubles champions Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek and runners-up Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares have also secured their berths at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, qualifying behind three-time former champions Bob and Mike Bryan.
Stepanek, who along with Paes reached the semi-finals last year at The O2, stated it was their goal to win the title. "That's the trophy which is missing in Leander's showcase. That's what I'm very focused on, that's what I would like to deliver," he said.
