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.
[Rafael Nadal looks on the bright side at ATP World Tour Finals]
“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.
[Poll: Will Rafael Nadal win a grand slam title in 2016?]
“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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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
The Ashes
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
SPECS
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The%20Specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.6-litre%204-cylinder%20petrol%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E118hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20149Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Six-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh61%2C500%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20EA%20Vancouver%2C%20EA%20Romania%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20EA%20Sports%3Cbr%3EConsoles%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
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MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
Ajax 4
Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A