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Andy Murray knows there can be no let up in his quest to secure a place at the ATP World Tour Finals as he heads to Valencia on the back of a hard-earned victory over David Ferrer in the final of the Vienna Open.
The British No1 recovered from losing the opening set to break serve three times in the decider and clinch a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory in two hours and 40 minutes, earning him crucial points in the Race to London.
Murray is now the holder of the eighth and final qualifying berth for the tournament hosted at the O2, with Tomas Berdych’s win against Grigor Dimitrov in the final of the Stockholm Open later last night consolidating the Czech’s seventh position.
The margins, though, are slim heading into the last fortnight of the regular season with the Valencia Open 500 and Swiss Indoors Basle event this week followed by the Paris Masters, which carries double the qualification points.
Six players are realistically left chasing the three remaining places and Murray said: “The next few weeks are extremely important, everyone is playing next week. I just need to win as many matches as possible to at least keep hold of the eighth spot.
“I was starting to feel good at the US Open and I wanted to try and continue that through until the end of the year.
“Obviously, London would be very nice if I can get there but it is also important for seedings at the Australian Open.
“To be seeded in the top eight there can make a big difference to the draw.”
