Andy Murray beats Tomas Berdych in ATP World Tour Finals opener

By Ashley Williams

LONDON, England (TheSportsNEXT) November 5, 2012: World number three Andy Murray of Great Britain started his ATP World Tour Finals campaign off to a valiant start on Monday when he defeated Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in a three-set encounter at O2 Arena in London.

Andy Murray won the first set by 6-3 but his Czech opponent came back strongly in the second set winning it by the identical margin.

However, Andy Murray recomposed himself and clinched third set by 6-4.

In the other match of the World ATP Tour Finals on Monday, world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia is up against world number eight Jo-Wiflried Tsonga of France.

ATP world Tour Finals is the only ATP event played in a round-robin format where eight players contest for the laurels in two different groups. 

However, under the rules, the player who is ranked number eight in the ATP Champion's Race world rankings does not have a guaranteed spot. 

If a player who wins one of the year's Grand Slam events finishes the year ranked outside the top eight but still within the top 20, he would have been included in the event instead of the eighth-ranked player. 

If two players outside the top eight won Grand Slam events, the higher placed player in the world rankings would take the final spot in the Tennis Masters Cup.