Andy Murray improved his chances of making the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time in four years after a record-breaking contest against Kei Nishikori in London.Not since his debut in 2008, when the tournament was held in Shanghai, has the Scot won both of his opening two matches and his 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 6-4 victory over Nishikori will be enough for a first last-four appearance since 2012 as long as he beats Stan Wawrinka on Friday. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price This was the fourth meeting of the year between the pair, with Murray having won easily at the Olympics but enduring long five-set tussles with Nishikori in the Davis Cup and at the US Open, where he came out second best. And the Briton rose to the occasion once again, after his victory over Cilic, to defeat Japans finest in the longest ever match at the season-ending tournament, lasting three hours and 20 minutes.Shot of the matchMurray showed remarkable powers of recovery with a moment of pure genius to be in the right place at the right time to save a third set point in an opening set tiebreak with this attacking winner from the tightest of angles. It was reminiscent of his winning effort to win the Rome Masters earlier this year against Novak Djokovic. This was just about the best point in a dramatic tiebreak in which Murray had three set points and Nishikori had five Expert analysisSky Sports Peter Fleming: Hes the world No 1 and you dont get to that position without having incredible resolve and will and reserve of mental and emotional stamina. He is a great physical athlete, hits the ball beautifully and his backhand is incredible, but it was just his willingness to keep going and his willingness to butt heads with Nishikori.Mentally and emotionally, it might be more of a strain for him to recover than physically. Knowing what is at stake, I think it will be quite easy for him to get up for the rest of his matches here. Murray had to dig deep to beat Nishikori in what was the longest match in Tour Finals history The matchThere were no less than 17 breaks of serve during their US Open encounter but Nishikori, who could yet finish the year ranked No 3, failed to capitalise on those offered on a plate during an opening set lasting 85 minutes, including 40 unforced errors. Heres Murrays stunning cross-court winner on the run which left Nishikori at the net... After a slow-burner of an opening with both men failing to take opportunities to break, the first set tiebreak lit the blue touchpaper.Murray was forced to produce a remarkable reflex winner from an impossible angle to save a third set point at 6-3. But ultimately the Scot failed take any of his three opportunities created, while the 26-year-old broke Murrays resistance at the fifth time of asking to stun the home support. Nishikori needed a couple of smashes to eventually get past Murray after this exchange... That only inspired the 29-year-old, who started his fightback with an immediate response in the opening game of the next set. A re-energised Nishikori broke back in the eighth game, but Murray struck immediately back to send the match into a decider.Wimbledon and Olympic champion Murray tk advantage of a lucky net cord in the third game to move ahead in the match and he quickly made it a double break advantage. Although Nishikori, who reached the 2014 semi-finals on his debut at the season finale, won the next three on the spin, it was the world No 1 who held his nerve to seal a famous win at the second time of asking. Heres the moment Murray closed out the match at the second time of asking... The victory made it 21 in a row for the Scot, who needs to match Djokovics performance this week to ensure he holds onto top spot until the end of the year.Check our game-by-game coverage from all group matches at the ATP World Tour Finals in London - including Andy Murray v Stan Wawrinka on Friday - on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis. Murray v Nishikori: Match Stats Murray Nishikori Aces 8 0 Double faults 6 4 1st serve points won 75% 72% 2nd serve points won 48% 40% Break points won 4/7 2/11 Unforced errors 39 49 Total points won 130/251 121/251 Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price!Also See:WATCH: How gd is Murray?As it happened...Murrays service syndrome over?That was pulsating tennisAir Jordan Canada Sale . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Cheap Jordans Free Shipping . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. http://www.discountairjordancanada.com/ .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Jordan Retro Canada . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Discount Air Jordan . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-fted shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front.MIAMI -- This season may be the first time in 17 years that the New York Knicks can actually say they are better than the Miami Heat.New York, led by established standouts Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose and superstar-in-the making 7-3 center/forward/shting guard Kristaps Porzingis, may be for real this time around.The old rivals -- more on that later -- will meet on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, and the Knicks (11-9) are in a virtual three-way tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They have won three in a row and eight of their past 11 and are just one game out of third place.Two games over .500 is nothing to get excited about for many NBA franchises, but it is nose-bleed country for the Knicks and their fans, who have had little to cheer about for nearly two decades.Put it this way, at no point in the past three-plus seasons have the Knicks been three games over .500, which is what they would achieve if they beat the Heat on Tuesday.New Yorks most recent win, 106-98 on Sunday night against the visiting Sacramento Kings, was not a thing of beauty. The Knicks built a 21-point lead before allowing a Kings 18-0 run.I dont think anybody on our team cares about stats -- the main objective is just to get wins, Knicks guard Brandon Jennings told the media when asked about the concept of winning ugly. But weve got to get better.While the Knicks are striving to provide a little more quality in their wins, the Heat arrive home with a 7-13 record that does not befit this proud franchise.They are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. And while its early, they have dug themselves a hole if they plan to make the top eight and the playoffs.On the bright side for Miami, the Heat is coming off a successful 2-1 road trip.Youd love to go 3-0, said Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who had 28 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in the trips finale, a 99-92 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. But anytime you go positive on a road trip, thats motivation.Whiteside could have another big game against the Knicks, and here are two reasons why:First, Whiteside has big games against almost everybody lately, which is why he ranks first in the NBA in rebounds (14.9) and third in blocks (2.6). He is also averaging a team-best 17.8 points on 56.2 percent shting from the flr.Second, New Yorks defense is not very gd, especially against post players. Sacramentos DeMarcus Cousins had 36 points and 12 rebounds on Sunday, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns had 47 points and 18 rebounds on Wednesday.Tuesdays game will be difficult to handicap since the Heat is just 2-7 at home and the Knicks are 2-6 on the road.Injuries are another factor, mostly for the Heat.For Miami, small forwards Luke Babbit (hip flexor) and Justise Winsloww (wrist) and shting guards Dion Waiters (groin) and Josh Richardson (ankle) are expected to sit out.dddddddddddd All four have started games this season.The Knicks are missing just one player, starting shting guard Courtney Lee, who has missed two straight games due to a sprained left ankle.Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek told the media Lee was feeling better but still not 100 percent, which was especially noticeable on lateral movements.Now about that Knicks-Heat rivalry ...The last time the Knicks beat the Heat in a playoffs series was in 2000.That was Patrick Ewings last season in New York, and the rivalry pretty much ended with his departure. The Knicks have been mostly miserable in the post-Ewing era, winning just one playoff series in all this time, beating the Boston Celtics in the first round in 2013.Of course, the Heat won their second straight NBA title that year, so forgive them if they barely noticed New York winning a first-round series.But for those who are t young to fully understand the Heat-Knicks rivalry ... or for those t old to remember how captivating and thrilling it was, here is a CliffsNotes version of what went down in four glorious series in four consecutive years:The bitterness between the organizations began when coach Pat Riley, upset that the Knicks would not let him have enough of a say in personnel decisions, bolted to Miami.And in 1997, with Riley coaching the Heat and Jeff Van Gundy leading New York, there was high drama. New York led the conference semifinals 3-1, but the Heat came back to win 4-3.There should be an asterisk next to that series win, however. Due to a brawl in Game 5, the Knicks suffered several key suspensions, causing two missed games by Charlie Ward and one each by Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson and John Starks. That crippled the Knicks chances.In 1998, the Knicks got even, winning 3-2 in a first-round series again spiced by a fight, this time between Johnson and Alonzo Mourning.In 1999, the Knicks again beat the Heat 3-2 in the first round, this time on Houstons winning shot that bounced off the rim and off the backboard before finally falling through the net with just 0.8 seconds left. The eighth-seeded Knicks crushed the dreams of top-seeded Miami that year.And in 2000, the Knicks beat the Heat 4-3 in a conference semifinal. Ewing dunked on Miami in the final seconds of what was a one-point New York win -- a fitting way to end that era of this incredible rivalry.Will Heat-Knicks ever be that gd again?Probably not, but the Whiteside-Porzingis matchup should be a very gd one for years to come. Maybe a heated playoff series, a fight or two. ... You never know. ' ' '