NEWS » Agler sent out to media members urging them to str

Mark Petchey believes becoming world No 1 marks Andy Murrays finest achievement in tennis. Murrays march to the final of the Paris Masters, coupled with Novak Djokovics quarter-final exit to Marin Cilic, means the 29-year-old will take over from the Serb at the top of the world rankings on Monday.And Sky Sports tennis expert Petchey, who coached Murray during the early stages of the Scots career, says the three-time Grand Slam winner is finally being rewarded for years of hard work. Andy Murray says hes proud after becoming the world number one, replacing Novak Djokovic after 122 weeks For me its his greatest ever achievement, Petchey told Sky Sports News HQ. Its a lifetime of work for his finest hour. There is so much that goes into being world No 1 anyway, but also at this stage of his career at 29, the fact he has just been behind Novak, Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] throughout the course of his career, to finally get to the summit of mens tennis underlines just how much Andy is willing to sacrifice and persevere and be patient. Live Tennis: ATP World Tour Finals November 13, 2016, 12:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass All those ingredients go in, which is why for me it is his greatest achievement.Petchey is confident Murray will not rest now he is at the summit.The one thing about Andy is he will never relax, Petchey added. He always wants to get better and better and thats why hes become such a great champion. Murray won Wimbledon for a second time in the summer Speaking to his coach Jamie Delgado, after Wimbledon they went down to the Nadal Academy and his team were just blown away by the work ethic that he put into the training sessions there, after winning Wimbledon. That is the reason why this week we see him as world No 1, because there was no let down, he went straight back and worked.Petchey also believes the duel between Murray and Djokovic ensures an exciting end to the season, with both players battling to finish the year as the worlds best player. Novak Djokovic says Andy Murray deserves to become the world number one after raising his level in the last year The fact that the world No 1 is on the line for the World Tour finals is great and will be a spur for both players to produce their best tennis in the next couple of weeks, Petchey added. For Andy, to finish the year as world No 1 is a big deal. Lots of players have won a Grand Slam but failed to get to get No 1 at any stage of their career; there are even fewer players that have ended up year-end No 1 and for Andy to be able to achieve that will be enough of a drive for him continue this fantastic run. Murrays next aim is to end the year as world No 1 When he was 18, he didnt love the hard work. He always loved to play tennis, but now, he loves to work hard physically. He would have had a good career, he was that talented, but he wouldnt have become unique without investing in that hard work and growing on a daily basis to love it. Now hes arguably the hardest worker mens tennis has ever seen.Check our game-by-game updates from Andy Murray v John Isner from the ATP Paris Masters final and then follow his progress at the ATP World Tour Finals from London skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis. Also See: Sky Live: Murray v Isner Murray proud of No 1 ranking Murray worthy of top spot Murray becomes world No 1 Doug Gilmour Jersey .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Felix Potvin Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. http://www.officialmapleleafspro.com/ . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Tim Horton Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. John Tavares Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. There was a moment earlier this season when there was a bit of a strange sound in Nneka Ogwumikes voice when she was asked about the difficulty of facing defending champion Minnesota.Was that a little edge we heard from Ogwumike? She of the perpetually cheerful disposition and easy, bubbling laugh? Yeah, it sounded that way.She wasnt growling or anything like that. But she basically said she was pretty sure the Lynx were focusing on the Lynx, not the Sparks. Thus, the Sparks needed to do the same thing: focus on themselves.Maybe you could call it part of the competitive evolution of Ogwumike, who accomplished a career milestone by being named the WNBAs MVP on Tuesday. She has always been a selfless player, going back to her great career at Stanford, the kind of player who was just concerned with what was best for her team.She has maintained that attitude through her five years as a professional, including some challenging times with the Sparks. Los Angeles has made the playoffs every year since drafting Ogwumike at No. 1 in 2012. But the Sparks have won just one postseason series, 2-0 over San Antonio in her rookie year.Ogwumike has played for three WNBA coaches, if you count executive vice president/general manager Penny Tolers 12-game stint as coach after Carol Ross was fired in July 2014.Ogwumike has had to play out of position at times, especially last year, filling in the gaps depending on the Sparks personnel. She has learned to guard players at different positions, using speed, quickness, leaping ability and those Stanford smarts to try to stop guards, forwards and centers.At 6-foot-2, Ogwumike is what some coaches admiringly call bouncy. Ive compared her to Tigger before, and it seems apt. But there is also an explosiveness to her that seems more refined and effective this year than ever before. Which is saying something, because she has been a very good player from the first time she stepped on a WNBA coourt.ddddddddddddAnd then, of course, theres the making a ton of shots thing. That reached a new level for Ogwumike this season.Her field goal percentage in her first four seasons: 53.5, 56.6, 52.0, and 52.5. All very respectable, as her scoring average climbed from 14.0 PPG her rookie season to 16.5 last year.This season, shes shooting a ridiculous 66.5 percent from the field (244-of-367). Her efficiency as a scorer leads the WNBA. Its at a historical level, and it was a key factor in her winning the MVP award. She also averaged career highs in scoring (19.7), rebounding (9.1), assists (3.1) and blocked shots (1.2).Statistically, Ogwumikes numbers made a very compelling case for MVP. But you can also point to things like the praise-filled note Los Angeles coach Brian Agler sent out to media members urging them to strongly consider Ogwumike because of everything she does, even when its hard to measure statistically.Sometimes on teams, the glue player is someone whos never going to be an MVP or win any other league honor. But shes the best at keeping everyone light when thats needed, making sure there are no gaps in communication between the players or coaches, and generally taking responsibility even for things that arent her fault.Ogwumike has always done that, and then add to it just that little bit of edge that seemed noticeable -- barely, but there -- this season. It has nothing to do with arrogance or irritation; its about honing a kind of fierce competitiveness that Ogwumike knows the Sparks will need to make a title run.Ogwumike is someone that all the Sparks know they can count on. Her impressive stats were the hard data needed to earn the MVP honor. But the winning personality she brings to the Sparks just adds a layer of evidence that this was an honor she definitely earned. ' ' '