By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, November 16, 2015
Andy Murray exploited eight double faults from David Ferrer in a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Photo credit: Camerasport
The head-and-shoulders fake failed miserably in the fourth game, but Andy Murray didn't need too much trickery to dissect David Ferrer in London today.
He had plenty of help.
Exploiting eight double faults from Ferrer, Murray came back from a break down in the second set to carve up an erratic opponent, 6-4, 6-4, in his ATP World Tour Finals opener at the O2 Arena.
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Murray took the court riding a four-match winning streak against Ferrer, including a straight-sets win the Paris semifinals.
Seeking to snap that slide, Ferrer tried amping up the pace on both first and second serves and paid the price. He served just 49 percent and won only 40 percent of his second-serve points.
The second-ranked Scot fought off a break point in the opener. Murray tried the head-and-shoulders fake retrieving a drop shot, but Ferrer wasn't fooled at all guiding a backhand down the line. He saved a break point for 2-all.
See Ferrer's response to the Murray head-fake here:
A wild Ferrer forehand into the doubles alley gave Murray double break point in the eighth game. Ferrer fought off both then saved a third driving the ball near the baseline. Ferrer used a fine drop shot winner and coaxed a Murray error holding for 4-all.
Challenged again in the 10th game, Ferrer cracked. A horrid two double-fault game so the Spaniard double fault away the opening set after 47 minutes.
Trying to serve bigger to neuter Murray's sniper return game, Ferrer served just 47 percent in the set spitting up two of his three double faults in the final game.
A strong front-runner, Murray was 59-0 when winning the opening set in 2015. His last loss after winning the first set came against Ferrer last fall. Unfazed by his first-set stumble, Ferrer made Murray pay for a serve-and-volley attempt breaking at love to open the second set.
In his zeal to hit harder, Ferrer lost the range a bit. A tremendous running point showcased Murray's variety of shot as he mixed a low, slow slice with a flatter forehand crosscourt coaxing the error to break back for 3-all.
Futility haunted Ferrer in the final game. He had a clear look at a backhand sitter but smacked it wide giving Murray two match points. Murray, who won 11 of 20 trips to net, came soaring in to snap a smash, prompting a premature roar from the crowd and the lights coming on in the arena. Ferrer saved the shot, but Murray tapped an overhead to close a tidy win in 90 minutes.