Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/748968
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2016 23 MURRAY, who will be looking to secure the year-end world num- ber one ranking at the London tournament, was placed in the same group as the third, fifth and seventh seeds - Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic - when the draw was made last Monday. Defending champion Novak Djokovic is the man hoping to de- ny Murray that year-end top spot and he was drawn alongside Mi- los Raonic and tournament debu- tants Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem. The Serb, who will open the tournament against Thiem on Sunday afternoon, holds a com- bined 23-0 win-loss record over the trio in his group so the draw could not have worked out a great deal better for him. Murray, on the other hand, is 27- 12 against his group opponents. This season, Murray beat Waw- rinka in their only meeting - the semis of the French Open. He has beaten Nishikori twice but lost their last meeting in the quarter- finals of the US Open. As for Cil- ic, the Croatian also won their last clash - the final of the Cincinnati Masters in August. Cilic will be Murray's first opponent on Mon- day evening. The top two in each group qual- ify for the semi-finals. As part of the draw ceremony, Murray, who became a father ear- lier this year, revealed he planned on staying at his Surrey home during the tournament - a change from previous years when he has stayed at a nearby hotel. He added: "I'm looking forward to getting out there. "It's an amazing atmosphere. The event gets great crowds every year. "I'm trying to take a few days rest now. "Obviously I finished on Sunday in Paris. I'll start hitting again on Thursday. I need a few days break now and will start practising again nearer the weekend. "It's one big final push for all the guys in the event. It's been a lot of tennis for everyone this year so hopefully everyone plays well." Murray's greatest threat in the group stage will be Wawrinka, the world number three who won his third Grand Slam title at the US Open in September. "It's been amazing what he's done this year and also over the past 10 years," Wawrinka said. "He's an amazing player, he's been fighting for everything and winning almost everything. He deserves to be number one, he's played so well recently. "It will be good for him playing at home, being number one just now, so it will be an interesting tournament." Murray knows he will end the year as world number one if he wins the title at the O2 Arena. However, he has never been past the semi-finals at the event. If he fails to claim the title, the door will be open for Djokovic - who has won in London the last four years - to take back the top spot he lost to Murray at the Paris Masters. Sport Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy becoming rather cloudy with showers overnight VISIBILITY: Good locally moderate in showers WIND: Southeast force 3 to 4 becoming South overnight SEA: Slight to moderate becoming slight SWELL: Negligible Sea Temp.: 24°C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 23 º C / 18 º C UV INDEX: 4 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 1. Easy to reach 8. Metal spikes 9. Join 10. Assist 12. Resembling glass 14. Sweet baked food made of dough 17. Melt 21. Friendly 22. Watery fruit 23. Depression from lack of company Down 2. Penetrating cold 3. Not difficult 4. Cranium 5. Utter joy 6. Foe 7. Unit of length 11. Domesticated animal 13. Toward the stern 14. Student 15. Mull village 16. Pertaining to a sovereign 18. Small mountains 19. Stream of air 20. So be it Qxe7+ Kg6 (Kg8) Nf4# .... Kg8 Qe8# (b8=RorQ#, c8=RorQ#) TENNIS Tough London draw for Murray Andy Murray has been handed the toughest possible draw, in ranking terms, for the ATP World Tour Finals Andy Murray is looking to secure year-end no 1 spot