Andy Murray beats Milos Raonic in straight sets at ATP Tour Finals

Andy Murray is still in the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals after beating Milos Raonic 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday night, feeding on noticeably bigger crowd support after his anaemic defeat by Kei Nishikori on Sunday, and he will need all those decibels to overcome the game’s ageless darling, Roger Federer, on Thursday evening.

Two years ago here in the semi-finals, with the glow of Olympic gold still hanging on his shoulders, Murray was shocked to hear the crowd lean towards the Swiss. It was one of the most curious scenes of recent years.

Whoever the fans support, because of the competition’s unbelievably complicated format Murray could beat Federer in the concluding last group match and not go through – or lose to him and qualify (16 results are still possible in this group before the semi-finals). It might yet depend on the outcome of Thursday afternoon’s match between Nishikori and Raonic.

If Murray had lost to Raonic, he was indisputably going home to Surrey and he played with palpable urgency and spirit.

“On Sunday there wasn’t much magic,” Murray admitted, “but today I just came up with some good shots at the right moments.”

That he did, winning 69 of the 128 contested points, getting more discipline on his serve, some kick on his second and capitalising on dreadful serving by Raonic, especially in the first set when his first-shot accuracy dipped to a lamentable 38%, as well as a forehand that would not have looked out of place on the Futures tour.

“Happy to be back,” Murray said, “great atmosphere, thanks a lot for the support. Nice match to look forward to on Thursday against Roger, looking forward to it. It’s always a pleasure to play against Roger.”

In truth there was no sarcasm in that. They are level at 11 wins apiece (although Federer leads 3-0 here) and Murray always relishes pitting his wits against an opponent who invariably inspires him to find his best tennis.

In the afternoon Federer again looked superb and he seems to be in the mood to win this tournament for the seventh time in 13 visits. If he beats Murray and goes on to win the title, he could also be on a route back to No1 in the world, a scenario that would have been regarded as improbable even a few months ago.

It would take not only an extension of his golden run here but a major slip-up by the incumbent Novak Djokovic over the next few days, and Federer says he is not dreaming in that wonderland at the moment.

However, only Murray – as well as Djokovic and Federer’s compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, who are in the other Group – have shown the sort of form to stop the elegant Swiss, who is playing nearly as well at 33 as when he won the last of his 17 majors, in 2012 – when he had only one set of twins instead of two.

As for Raonic, who played perhaps the best tennis of his life to beat Federer in the quarter-finals in Paris and crumbled in his presence on Sunday night, he dipped again at just the right moment for Murray. He was livid when he shoved a regulation forehand long to give Murray the break in the sixth game – and similarly unimpressed when he did the same moments later, helpless to prevent the set oozing from his grasp.

They traded breaks early in the second as the Canadian found some rhythm, although his forehand was still a liability, the tape aiding his escape at 2-2 after he was dragged into a brief deuce battle.

The glimpses of class Raonic showed at close quarters when losing to Djokovic in the Paris final surfaced and his confidence flooded back when a deft backhand volley won him his ninth point in 11 trips to the net, but Murray held to level. Raonic struck only his second and third aces just past the hour, testimony to the sluggardly nature of the court as much as his lack of vim.

They went shot for shot until Murray pulled off an extraordinary get, which Raonic none the less should have killed, only to be punished by an even more astonishing backhand crosscourt reply. It laid the foundation for Murray’s break in the 11th game, and he served for the match at 6-5. With a wobble or two, he fell over the line after an hour and a half, glad of Raonic’s 23rd unforced error on his forehand.