US Open 2014: Murray faces Djokovic with one eye on big London date

Quarter-final clash with world No1 may have a bearing on whether the Scot qualifies for World Tour Finals.

Andy Murray will have more than the chance of winning his second US Open at stake when he takes on Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals here tonight. Victory could enhance Murray’s prospects of making the field for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in November.

The eight places in London go to the players who have earned the most ranking points in the calendar year. Murray is ninth in the list, with 2,795 points, 355 behind Tomas Berdych, the man in eighth place. If Murray loses tonight and Berdych wins his quarter-final tomorrow against Marin Cilic, the Czech will put more distance between himself and the Scot.

With two Masters Series tournaments (Shanghai and Paris) and four World Tour 500 events (Beijing, Tokyo, Basle and Valencia) to be played before the London finale, Murray will have further chances to move up the pecking order. However, there are more ranking points at stake at a Grand Slam than anywhere else.

Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer have already guaranteed their places in this year’s field. Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov and Berdych are the other players on course to make the London line-up.

Given the stifling heat here — yesterday’s temperature peaked at 34C and it was 27C at midnight — Murray and Djokovic will be grateful that their match will be the last of the day in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Nevertheless, the temperature is forecast to be 26C when the match starts at about 9pm (2am BST). Murray coped better with the heat when the two men played their fourth-round matches two days ago.

On past evidence the match can be expected to go the distance. Their 2012 final here, which Murray won, lasted just under five hours, as did their semi-final at the Australian Open, which Djokovic won, earlier in the same year.

Murray said the experience of playing such matches could only be of benefit. “I know that I can last against him,” the Scot said. “As much as it’s incredibly tough and challenging, the match is what you enjoy. Playing on Wednesday night against the No1 player in the world is exciting. If you aren’t getting motivated or pumped up for those matches, it’s time to maybe stop.”