World Tour Finals: The verdict

Marcus Buckland, Barry Cowan, Annabel Croft, Peter Fleming, Barry Millns, Mark Petchey, Greg Rusedski and Leif Shiras give their final verdict on a drama-filled ATP World Tour Finals which saw world No 1 Andy Murray crowned the best player on the planet.

Murray produced an imperious display to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 and win the season-ending extravaganza at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday.

The 29-year-old’s first Tour Finals title came with the hugely significant bonus of ensuring that he remained above Djokovic in the year-end rankings and can finally claim he is the best player on the planet.

So what do the Sky Sports Tennis team make of Murray’s marvellous achievement? We asked each of the experts to sum up Sunday’s historic final and pick out one memorable moment from what’s been a blockbuster week of action in the capital.

Marcus Buckland

The final verdict

Unbelievable, unpredictable, extraordinary, I’m going to run out of adjectives and superlatives, but not what many people expected – incredible non the less.

Marcus’ memorable moment

If I had to pick one moment aside from getting into the ice bath with Annabel, it’s actually that extraordinary point that Andy played at 3-1 in the second set tie-break against Milos Raonic. That unbelievable little dink between his legs that kept him going ultimately to an amazing victory there and to the glory that followed just 24 hours later.

Barry Cowan

The final verdict

It’s ended in a remarkable year. I think it’s a fantastic advert for the sport that we’ve had two great champions battle it out. It’s always great to be part of history and Andy’s run was fitting it ended like that for him.

Barry’s memorable moment

I think the end. The last game reminded me so much of the Wimbledon final when clearly he was still nervous, he was still able to hold his nerve and that’s the sign of a champion.

Annabel Croft

The final verdict

It feels as if we’ve witnessed a really, really special occasion. I don’t think anybody could believe that Andy Murray could dig into some reserves that we didn’t think would be there after the tennis that he’s had to come through in the course of the week. He said himself that when he woke up he felt pretty terrible and he didn’t know how he was going to be able to play the way he did. Andy was rock solid, he served well, and I just think it topped off what has been a special year. Everyone feels that he is the true world number one.

Annabel’s memorable moment

That tie-break against Milos Raonic in the third set. I was courtside down here and it was unbelievable tension and nerves, passion, drama. It was an extraordinary match that will live long …

continue reading in source www.skysports.com