• ATP World Tour Finals

Painful defeat for Murray as Ferrer rips up the script

Andy Murray is struggling with a groin injury © PA Photos

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When the groups for the ATP World Tour Finals were drawn, Andy Murray must have been feeling pretty pleased with life.

He may have been drawn against the world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but the Serb has not won a tournament since the US Open, and has been struggling with a shoulder injury. And it also meant the Scot avoided the in-form Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who has beaten Murray in three grand slam semi-finals this season.

While Djokovic survived his opening match against Tomas Berdych unscathed on Monday, the world No. 1 is not firing on all cylinders, and looked some way off his best against the Czech. With only the world's top eight players in London there are no easy matches, but as far as opening games go, David Ferrer must have been top on Murray's list.

Ferrer may have Murray's number on clay, but the Scot had never lost on the hard courts - in five previous meetings he had only dropped one set to the Spaniard. Murray had won all three encounters between the pair this season, including two straight-set victories en route to titles in Tokyo and Shanghai.

It was all looking rather good for Murray, who fell in an epic semi-final to Rafael Nadal in London last year. With Djokovic carrying a shoulder problem, Murray was looking a good bet to win his group.

Britain's wait for a male grand slam champion goes on, but the O2 Arena looked like it could be the stepping stone to grand slam success for the man widely regarded to be the best player never to have won a major.

But Ferrer clearly hadn't read the script. He may lack the majesty of his compatriot Nadal, but the evergreen Spaniard scurried around the court, piling pressure on a subdued and unpredictable Murray. Murray took an early break in both sets, only for Ferrer to claw his way back, breaking the Scot on his final service games to claim both sets.

David Ferrer claimed an unlikely win on Monday © PA Photos

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Murray showed flashes of brilliance; the odd trademark cross-court backhand, a few passing winners down the line, and one superb shot between the legs. But that was the extent of it. The Scot played his best tennis under pressure - digging himself out of a hole on more than one occasion, but failing to back it up. In the end, 44 unforced errors spoke volumes, as did his 44% first serve success rate.

Murray won 41 points on serve to Ferrer's 43, but while Murray managed just 28 points on return, Ferrer claimed 40. Speaking after the match, Murray, even more sombre than usual, admitted he felt "flat" for much of the match.

"He gives you very few points," Murray said of his opponent. "Normally when I played against him, I've served pretty well, and you can get some free points on your serve if you serve well. But he returned well today, didn't make hardly any mistakes on the return, so he was always putting pressure on my service game and that was the main difference."

It was supposed to be a glorious homecoming for Murray - back on home turf and in the form of his life. But instead it was a painful defeat, and it could even be a disappointing way to bow out for the season.

With Djokovic nursing a shoulder injury, Murray struggling with a groin problem and Nadal feeling under the weather, it could be a case of last man standing.

Mardy Fish picked up a hamstring strain in Paris, and while Roger Federer is the favourite to claim a record sixth title, the Swiss admitted to fighting fatigue ahead of the final event of the ATP Tour season.

He came to London last year and failed to win a single set. But he made the final back in 2007, beating Djokovic, Nadal and Richard Gasquet in his round-robin matches in Shanghai. With players dropping like flies around him, could Ferrer achieve the unexpected and win the ATP World Tour Finals?

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.