Murray given kind draw

Andy Murray has avoided paying the price for dropping to fifth in the rankings ahead of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Robin Soderling overtook the British number one after winning the Paris Masters on Sunday, meaning Murray could have found himself in a group with world number three Novak Djokovic as well as one of Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.

But Tuesday's draw was reasonably kind to Murray, who will face Federer, Soderling and David Ferrer in Group B, while Nadal, Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick contest Group A.

Murray will hope for better luck at the prestigious end-of-season tournament, which begins at the O2 on Sunday, than last year, when he missed out on a semi-final spot by one game to Juan Martin Del Potro.

The Argentinian is a notable absentee this time after missing most of the season with a wrist injury, while reigning champion Nikolay Davydenko also failed to qualify after time out with a similar problem.

Murray's only defeat from three matches last year came against Federer, but wins over Del Potro and Fernando Verdasco were not enough to prevent an early exit.

The 23-year-old has met his Swiss rival three times this year, winning their last two battles in straight sets to lift Masters titles in Toronto and Shanghai.

However, he lost out to Federer in the Australian Open final back in January.