Andy Murray moved into eighth place in the race to the ATP World Tour finals on Saturday as he and top seed David Ferrer both reached the final at the Austrian Open.
Murray, a title winner at Shenzhen in September, booked his place in his second title match in a month with a defeat of qualifier Viktor Troicki 6-4 6-3 in 82 minutes.
Ferrer, who trails Murray by just 10 points in the race to November’s eight-man World Tour Finals in London, needed an hour more to go through, beating German fourth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-3).
Sunday’s title match will be key for both Murray and Ferrer, who are among the top contenders for the three remaining spots at the London showpiece.
US Open champion Marin Cilic was the latest to join the field alongside Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka.
Murray turned in a workmanlike effort in just under 90 minutes against Serbian Troicki, who had fought his way through the qualifying rounds with the Scot taking his head-to-head record in the series to 6-0.
Murray earned his 50th victory of the season with four breaks from 11 chances.
“I’ve been getting a bit better with each match,” said Murray, who broke a 15-month dry spell with his Shenzhen success.
“He had opportunities to be sure. I needed to play well on some key points. David will be tough for sure, he’s very motivated, like myself, for London.”
Murray will be playing in his 44th ATP final as he seeks a 30th title.
In his rush to qualify for London, Murray is competing for a fourth straight week.
He still has two more weeks to go, with a wild card entry into Valencia next week and the Paris Masters to close out the official ATP season.
Ferrer and Kohlschreiber each overcame six double-faults in their semi-final duel, with the Spanish top seed winning the opening set only to double-fault away the second.
The third set was a struggle as the top seed came back from 4-2 down and converted in the eventual tiebreaker on the first of three match points to advance as Kohlschreiber hit the net.
“It was a very close match,” said Ferrer. “He played aggressive at key moments but also made mistakes.
“I’m fighting for a place in London so the final will be important for me,” said Ferrer, 6-7 against Murray.
“I’ll have to play my best if I’m to have a chance. Certainly I must serve better than today.”
Ferrer defeated Murray last week in the Shanghai Masters third round.
“This match will be completely different, it’s indoors, the past does not count. Murray is a top player and is fighting for London.”