New Ranking, Same Murray

After an outstanding season that has seen him post a 61-5 record since April and reach the final in 11 of his past 12 events, one could forgive Andy Murray for feeling a little tired. But the new World No. 1 said he is feeling energised by the home crowd at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and ready for one final push.

Murray scored a comprehensive victory on Monday over seventh seed Marin Cilic to score his 20^th win in a row. With the local crowd firmly on his side, the Brit raised his level in the most important points and kept his opponent pinned behind the baseline.

“It was a great reception, a really good atmosphere tonight. It was obviously nice to play in that stadium with the crowd like that. It obviously helps,” said Murray. “After a long few months, it’s nice to know that I’m going to be finishing the year playing in that sort of atmosphere. It helps you get up for the matches a bit more.”

Murray unseated Novak Djokovic on 7 November to became the 26^th player in history to reach No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Both players are moving closer to a championship showdown that could determine who finishes the year as World No. 1, but their on-court rivalry doesn’t reflect their more low-key relationship off the court.

“We’ve known each other for such a long time. I think both of us have gotten used to congratulating each other over the years. It’s quite normal,” said Murray. “We bump into each other every week and talk about our families and other stuff. We don’t discuss [results] much.”

More: Watch Murray’s 2016 Finale Profile

Part of Murray’s on-court success can be attributed to his stable family life off the court. After welcoming his first child this February with wife Kim Sears, Murray said his approach to life is now drastically different.

“It doesn’t directly impact your tennis. You have to still go out there on the practise court, train hard, get in the gym, work hard on your game. It’s more away from the court. I’ve been dealing with wins and losses much better because I have something else that’s more important. I’m not getting too high after wins or too down after losses, which was maybe the case in the past.”

“When I won [at the BNP Paribas Masters], it was great. I really enjoyed that. But then you come home and you’re back with your family,” added Murray. “I’m not thinking about Paris. I feel just a bit more sort of even-keeled through the year.