Andy Murray will be looking to extend his winning run to 22 matches and book his place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals when he faces Stan Wawrinka on Friday afternoon.Murray has won both of his contests thus far in the John McEnroe Group, beating Marin Cilic in straight sets and then Kei Nishikori in a three-set epic.But he could still be eliminated if he loses to Wawrinka in straight sets and Nishikori beats Cilic in the groups other match in the evening on Friday. Murray v Stan: A battle royale Expect sparks to fly at Londons O2 Arena on Friday afternoon... Murray leads the head-to-head 9-7 against the Swiss, and has his sights set on a perfect final against Novak Djokovic that would decide the year-end No 1 ranking.I think for the tournament and stuff, for everyone interested in tennis, that would probably be the perfect way to finish the year, he said. Murray talked to Mark Petchey at the SkyPad after his victory over Nishikori For me, and Im sure for Novak, both of our goals would be to try to win the event. For him, whether thats by beating me, someone else, or, for me, if its winning against Novak or another player, it doesnt change for us as players.Murray was pushed to the limit by Nishikori in the longest three-set match in ATP World Tour Finals history, which lasted three hours and 20 minutes. John McEnroe Group W-L Sets Games Andy Murray 2-0 4-1 30-20 Kei Nishikori 1-1 3-2 27-23 Stan Wawrinka 1-1 2-2 19-24 Marin Cilic 0-2 0-4 17-26 He acknowledged afterwards that he was a bit tired, but added: You tend to feel it more the following day, in terms of stiffness and soreness in the body. I was in the ice bath after the match. That obviously helps make you feel a bit better. But 10-12 hours afterwards the body starts to stiffen up. Its positive I get a days rest.After losing his first match, Wawrinka kept his hopes of progressing alive with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) victory over Cilic on Wednesday. Murray is one win from matching his career-best 22-match undefeated run from earlier this season, during which he won Queens, Wimbledon and Olympic gold All I know is if I want to have a chance to qualify, I need to win, he said afterwards. Thats all Im trying to do. Im going to try to play my best tennis, to beat the World No. 1. Its going to be a tough match.We played many times against each other. Hes playing his best tennis so far. Its going to be interesting. Im happy to play here in front of his home crowd. Im sure its going to be a great atmosphere.The only meeting between Murray and Wawrinka in 2016 was in the semi-finals of the French Open, with the world No 1 coming through in four sets. Watch highlights of Murrays win over Nishikori However, Wawrinka won their round-robin clash at the O2 last year 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.In the doubles match, Henri Kontinen and John Peers will be looking to make it three wins from three when they face world No 1 duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.Hugues and Mahut are already eliminated after two defeats and could slip from the top of the rankings if Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares reach the final.Kontinen and Peers are already assured of a semi-final place, having won both their matches in straight sets.Watch the ATP World Tour Finals on Friday from midday on Sky Sports 1 HD or follow on www.skysports.com.Also See:One of Murrays best-ever matchesMurray targets perfect finalWawrinka keeps hopes aliveStan sets sights on MurrayBoston Red Sox Pro Shop . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. 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With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position.LOS ANGELES -- It really is hard to find a narrative that LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers isnt willing to indulge in. The other night he even asked a group of journalism students from USC, who were observing his postgame news conference, for extra questions at the end of what had already been a lengthy session after a blowout 127-95 win against the Brooklyn Nets.But there is one subject he isnt touching right now.And its a topic the rest of the league most definitely is talking about with the Clippers off to a franchise-best 10-1 start.So you know theres all this talk of the Clippers being the best team in the NBA now ...Noooo. Mmm, mmm. Nooo. Nooo, Rivers said before the question was even asked.Part of Rivers caution is the youngness of the season. Eleven games is hardly a large enough sample size to start making judgments, let alone boast about anything.But mostly its because Rivers and his team have been stung by all manner of playoff scorpions in recent years.You get tired of losing, Rivers said. The whole second-round [playoff ceiling the franchise has yet to break through] ... I dont think our guys care about that, they just want to win. At some point guys just get tired of losing. I think our guys are at that point.There are all sorts of metrics that would make a compelling case for the Clippers as the best team in the NBA right now.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Clippers have outscored their opponents by 183 points this season, the fourth-best margin through 11 games of a season in NBA history behind only the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls (plus-212), 1964-65 Boston Celtics (plus-194) and 1971-72 Milwaukee Bucks (plus-193).Theyre leading the NBA in defensive efficiency and have the most dominant five-man lineup in the league. (According to ESPN Stats & Information, starters Blake Griffin-Chris Paul-J.J. Redick-DeAndre Jordan-Luc Mbah a Moute are 98 points better together than any other five-man lineup in the league.) They also feature a vastly improved bench with the additions of Raymond Felton, Brandon Bass and Marreese Speights.Still, Rivers isnt going there.I dont care really, Rivers said, dismissing the best-team-in-the-league talk. We like us. As good as were playing, we can play a lot better.Griffin actually started his postgame interview on Monday by saying his team had a couple of defensive lapses and couldve played better during a first quarter in which it led the Nets 35-7 at one point.Challenged to explain where any lapses couldve been in a 35-7 game, Griffin laughed and sheepishly said, Yeah, a couple.In other words, this team really doesnt want to take any bows yet.Rivers said it reminds him a bit of the 2007-08 championship team he coached in Boston. That was the NBAs first super team, if youre into those sorts of labels, where Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined forces to win each of their first titles.Oh yeah, Rivers said. It was the exact same thing with Paul and KG and Ray. They were tired of losing and they were like, Well, we gotta do it together.But that team was all about Ubuntu, a philosophy and rallying cry used by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu as they fought against apartheid in South Africa that roughly translates as, I am because we are.This years Clippers team has no such higher calling. Pierce was in Boston when Rivers explained it and ingrained Ubuntu into the DNA of that team. Hes in Los Angeles now -- although he has yet to play this season -- and says its vastly different.Its a lot different, Pierce told ESPN.com. This team has a lot of built-up frustration. They have first-round lossees, second-round losses.ddddddddddddUbuntu -- we dont have that. Its a totally different team. Different style, different team. This looks like built-up frustration over here.The biggest difference really is that the 2007-08 Celtics were about three future Hall of Famers coming together after a decade-plus of failing apart, with other teams. These Clippers have mostly been together for six years, sharing all these painful playoff losses.It all looked so promising in the first year of Lob City when the Clippers rallied to win a Game 7 on the road in Memphis in the first round of the 2012 playoffs. They were swept by San Antonio in the next round, but the season went down as a success for such a young team.They went backward in Year 2, losing to the Grizzlies in a bruising six-game first-round series. The Clippers won the first two games, lost the next three, then lost Griffin to a high-ankle sprain during walk-through practice. According to one insider, they were practicing traps to get the ball out of Zach Randolphs and Marc Gasols hands. Griffin spun, leaped, got bumped, landed on Lamar Odoms foot and let out the kind of scream that makes everyone in the gym cringe.The Clippers lost Game 6, fired coach Vinny Del Negro and turned to Rivers to get them over the hump. Instead, the Donald Sterling scandal landed like a stink bomb in the middle of a first-round series against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers somehow pulled out the series in seven games, marking the last time theyve been ahead of the Warriors. But they basically collapsed out of emotional exhaustion in the next round against Oklahoma City. Which seemed like the worst thing that would ever happen in their careers, until they blew a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets the next season.Last season was just stupid. Griffin and Paul went down with season-ending injuries in the same game of a first-round playoff series against Portland, and Damian Lillard put them out with four straight wins.You sort of have to bunch all those memories together to deal with the emotional trauma they evoke. Put it all in a run-on, stream-of-consciousness sentence and swallow it whole. Down it like a snake trying to eat a huge rat.The Houston series, Griffin said. Thats something that we still think about.Of all the Clippers playoff losses, thats still the worst because it was entirely in their hands. There wasnt a freak injury or twist of cruel fate. They just melted down.It happens, Griffin said. You saw it happen to Oklahoma City, you saw it happen to the Warriors in the Finals, the Indians if you want to go baseball. Thats part of it. As a team when you go through something like that, it can do one of two things: It can make you grow apart and resent each other, start pointing the finger. Or it can make you closer together. I think thats what thats done.Even last year, going through that season and that ending, I think its brought us closer together.Closer together, maybe. But still galaxies away from vindication. As good as theyve played this season, they still have many of the same weaknesses as before. They could use an upgrade at small forward to match up with the Kevin Durants and Kawhi Leonards of the world. Teams will still foul Jordan late in games to try to force Rivers to use a smaller lineup. And someone other than Paul needs to be able to make a clutch shot.But thats how thresholds always work. They are guarded until you finally overcome them. ' ' '
