By Chris Oddo | Thursday, October 30, 2014
Andy Murray knocked off Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to book his spot in London.
Photo Source: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty
Red-hot Andy Murray qualified for this year’s ATP World Tour Finals with a comprehensive shellacking of world No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov, 6-3, 6-3, on Thursday in Paris.
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The victory is Murray’s 11th in succession, and his 20th in his last 22 tilts.
It has been a fantastic six weeks for the two-time Grand Slam champion, as he has snapped up titles Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia and put himself within striking distance of returning to the ATP’s top five again.
On Thursday Murray took control early and never let it go, serving 7 aces and cracking 18 winners against a stingy unforced error count of 11.
Two straight forehand errors from Dimitrov gave Murray the first break of the match and a 2-1 lead in the first set.
Though Dimitrov, who cracked the 50-win mark for the season with his opening victory in Paris over Pablo Cuevas, stayed close, his ill-timed double fault while serving at 3-5 handed Murray his second break of the day and the opening set.
Murray, who blanketed the court and forced Dimitrov to hit for the lines all day, reeled off five consecutive games and 20 of 23 points to find himself with a 3-0 lead in the second set before Dimitrov even know what hit him.
The Bulgarian would find his footing and stay within a break, but Murray, in full flight in every facet of his game, never let his foot off the gas. He ended his personal two-match losing streak to Dimitrov, which included a heart-breaking straight-sets thrashing at Wimbledon, and closed affairs in one hour and 10 minutes.
Murray will make his seventh consecutive appearance at the year-end championships in London, but not before he continues his bid for a 10th career Masters 1000 title in Paris against either Novak Djokovic or Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals.
Dimitrov was eliminated from the London race as a result of the loss, but the Bulgarian can hold his head high having claimed three titles this season and reaching a career-high ranking of No. 8 this summer.
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