Andy Murray One Step Away from Sealing ATP World Tour Finals Spot After Emphatic Paris Masters Win

Andy Murray is now just one match from sealing a spot at the ATP World Tour Finals in London after a dominant win over Julien Benneteau at the Paris Masters.

Fresh off his pulsating success at the Valencia Open on Sunday 26 October, the British number one sealed a second round win over the Frenchman with a 6-3 6-4 win.

He will take on either Grigor Dimitrov or Pablo Cuevas in his third-round match.

Murray remained largely untroubled as he sealed the first set thanks to three double faults from his opponent. A late rally from Benneteau saw the Frenchman break Murray and claim the sixth game in the second set, but the Brit was able to rediscover momentum to seal the win.

Murray has entered the final leg of the Race to London having embarked on a gruelling schedule of 20 matches in five weeks in his attempts to clinch a top-eight spot in the ATP rankings, which earns qualification for the season-ending finals at the 02 Arena in London in November.

Victory in Valencia after saving five break points against Tommy Robredo in Sunday's final – his third title in five weeks – saw the 27-year-old spring into fifth place. With Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from injury now meaning a top-nine finish is good enough to qualify, Murray merely needs to avoid an early exit in the French capital to seal a spot in London.

Such is the Scot's exquisite form however, should he lose his next match he can still earn qualification, with an improbable sequence of results needed to deny him.