Andy Murray turns focus to hopes of Davis Cup success after Tour Finals failure

Andy Murray crashed out of the ATP World Tour Finals with a straight sets defeat to Stan Wawrinka. Tony O'Brien / Reuters

Andy Murray hopes the chance to make Davis Cup history with Great Britain will ease the pain of his frustrating ATP Tour Finals exit.

Murray crashed out of the season-ending event on Friday after a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 defeat against Stan Wawrinka denied him a place in the semi-finals.

The world No 2 has never won the Tour Finals, but he will have to wait another year to lift the trophy at London’s O2 Arena.

Instead, Murray’s thoughts will immediately turn to international duty as Britain prepare for their first Davis Cup final in 37 years next week.

It is a welcome situation for Murray, who couldn’t hide his disappointment at failing to make the Tour Finals last-four for the first time since 2012 as he smashed a racket as the match against the French Open champion slipped away.

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“This is obviously a big event, one that I would have liked to have done better over the years. It just hasn’t quite happened for me,” Murray said.

“When you’re playing and competing against the best players, obviously it’s very important to do well.

“I do enjoy playing here. Great crowds, good atmosphere. It’s a really nice venue to play in.

“So that’s why I’m disappointed with the losses the last two days. I wish I could have done better. Obviously the only positive for me this week is I’ve come away from it injury-free.

“Now I have a couple more days to get ready for Belgium (Britain’s Davis Cup final opponents).”

Murray said he could have few complaints about his Tour Finals failure after a lacklustre effort against Rafael Nadal and then an error-strewn loss to Wawrinka.

He insisted his inconsistent efforts were not the result of spending most of the week before the Tour Finals practising on clay courts at Queen’s Club to prepare for the surface that will be used in next week’s Davis Cup final in Ghent.

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“There’s no excuses. To be honest I made too many errors. It was tough. I couldn’t quite get the balance,” Murray said.

“My timing wasn’t there certainly the last few days. It’s disappointing.

“I felt like my timing would get better as the event went on, and it didn’t actually, it got worse. So that is nothing to do with not having enough time to prepare.”

Murray had already made it clear before the Tour Finals that his main priority at the end of the season was helping Britain win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.

And the former Wimbledon champion is confident the prospect of victory at the end of a memorable Davis Cup campaign, which has already included wins over the United States, France and Australia, will quickly make him forget his London exit.

“I didn’t find it difficult not thinking about the Davis Cup Final, to be honest,” he said.

“It’s a great opportunity for everyone. We look forward to it.”

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