Inconsistent Murray aims to cap mixed year

ANDY MURRAY insists he will take to the court at the O2 Arena in London tomorrow a better player than the one who competed at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last year.

On paper things look very similar, with the Scot holding his position as world number four for the majority of the season before tomorrow’s opponent Robin Soderling edged ahead courtesy of his victory in the Paris Masters last weekend.

But it has been 12 months of major highs and lows for Murray, perhaps summed up at the first grand slam of the year in Australia, where arguably the best two weeks of his career ended in tears and crushing disappointment with defeat by Roger Federer in the final.

A miserable four months followed before he rediscovered his best form in time for a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals and then he beat both Federer and world number one Rafael Nadal to win the Masters event in Toronto.

Hopes Murray could break his grand slam duck a couple of weeks later at the US Open were dashed in baffling and disappointing fashion in the third round but he did manage a second Masters title in Shanghai last month.

The last week of the season brings a chance for another prestigious title as the top eight players gather in London, and Murray, making his third consecutive appearance, admits the word that sums up his 2010 is “inconsistent”.

He said: “It’s tough. I feel more complete. But in sport some days you play badly and some you play well. If I play well, I’ll give myself a good chance of winning the matches, if I don’t it’s going to be hard. I just have to try to play my best tennis.

“It’s been a good year. It’s been a bit inconsistent. Definitely the last few months I feel like I’ve improved a lot, I’ve improved many different parts of my game.

“I feel like I’m starting to learn new things again, which is nice.” The line-up for the finals has a familiar look, with Federer and David Ferrer completing Group B while Group A includes Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych.

Of the eight men, only Berdych is making his debut, and Murray, who will be accompanied once again by part-time coach Alex Corretja, is rightly proud of his continued presence among the very best the world of tennis has to offer.

“It’s great, all the players start every year trying to make it. I almost did it in 2007 when I had the bad wrist injury and I had one match to do it against (Richard) Gasquet. I want to try to qualify as many times as I can.

“Roddick’s made it many times, I’m sure Federer and Rafa are up there, Djokovic too. It’s a tough thing to do. Not that many guys have been able to break through and make it.”

Davydenko and Del Potro are two notable absentees after both missed large chunks of the season with wrist injuries while Roddick will be making his O2 debut after being forced to pull out 12 months ago with a knee problem.