After a season in which he had already reached dizzy heights, Andy Murray saved the best to last by outclassing Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to claim his first ATP World Tour Finals title and secure the year-end top ranking.
Against a player who has so often been his nemesis, Murray produced a relentless display to overpower the Serb he dislodged from the No.1 spot earlier this month.
Murray added the title to the Wimbledon crown and Rio Olympics gold he won during a stunning summer and, despite Djokovic’s Australian Open and French Open titles, there can be little argument the Scot is currently the world’s best player.
There was a slight wobble when Djokovic fought back from 4-1 down in the second set as the exertions of Murray’s near four hour semi-final epic against Milos Raonic began to tell.
But Murray was relentless and claimed victory on his third match point when an error-prone Djokovic fired a forehand wide.
“It’s very special playing against Novak in a match like this, we’ve played grand slam finals and at the Olympics before, but I am very happy to win and to be world No.1 is very special. It is something I never expected,” Murray said.
Three-times grand slam champion Murray is the 17th man to end the year at No.1 since ATP rankings began in 1973 and only the fourth since 2004 – after which Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic have shared the position between themselves.