Murray and Nishikori set longest match record in London

On Wednesday in London, Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori faced off in a round-robin match that would became an ATP World Tour Finals epic. Finishing after three hours and 20 minutes, the contest set the record for longest ATP World Tour Finals match (since 1991). The first set went deep into the tiebreaker with some respective hijinks from both players.

To save a set point, Murray was rewarded for his hustle with this non-traditional backhand passing shot winner:

Later in the tiebreaker, Nishikori saved a set point of his own despite this bizarre lackluster overhead that nearly cost him the set:

Nishikori would grab the first set 7-6 (9), but Murray didn’t let the setback unravel his nerves completely. He picked up the next two sets 6-4, 6-4 to maintain a perfect 2-0 record in round-robin play. The 29-year-old was frustrated often, needing three games to close the match after racing out to a 5-1 lead.

Still, Murray avoided a breakdown, and earned sweet revenge after losing to Nishikori in the US Open quarterfinals in five sets when he famously lost his focus after a speaker malfunction disrupted play.

The Scot is a new man these days, perched high atop his throne of the ATP rankings. He has won 22 matches in a row (having not lost since falling to Juan Martin del Potro in the Davis Cup semifinals in September).

Murray's win on Wednesday means his hopes of keeping the No. 1 spot for the rest of the year are still very much alive. The man trying to wrestle that ranking from him, Novak Djokovic, is already into the semifinals.