Andy Murrays rise to the top of the rankings this fall has been a surprising tale containing numerous improbable elements. So its hardly shocking to discover that in his own eyes, not playing has had as much to do with Murrays spectacular results as his exploits on the court.Ive managed my rest and recovery periods much better, Murray told ESPNs Darren Cahill on Friday, following Murrays tidy, 6-4, 6-2 win against Stan Wawrinka in the final round of round-robin play in the ATP World Tour Finals. In the past, after a tournament or a loss, I would get right back out there on the court to play, or to practice.Its different now. After Murray won the Paris Masters 1000, he explained he resisted the impulse to pick up a racket for four days during the week before the World Tour Finals. He also laid aside his sticks for a week after he won the Shanghai Masters. It could not have been an easy decision for Murray to take, because he owes a great deal of his success to his work ethic.Murray has a well-earned reputation as a workaholic. If youve known anyone like that, you know how much comfort they take in the sheer act of working. How secure it makes them feel. But what if the work isnt paying off, or its become just a hedge against feeling inadequate?Changing his work habits could not have been an easy decision for Murray to make. But he took the plunge. The successful result is further proof of Murrays reputation as a man who has left no stone unturned in his quest for greatness. In having the confidence and poise to try that somewhat counter-intuitive change, the 29-year-old Scot set himself up to equal the best winning streak of his career (22 matches) with this win over Wawrinka. More importantly, Murray positioned himself for a showdown with Novak Djokovic this weekend for the year-end No. 1 ranking.I feel good, Murray said, despite a season workload that has produced a 76-9 singles record and eight titles. Obviously, Ive played a lot, but my body is just conditioned to matches.Murrays mind is similarly steeled to the task at hand. It can be dispiriting to be frowned upon by the gods of the draw while a rival seems to get a path to a semi or final as slick as a luge run. This week, the seemingly smooth ride was offered to Djokovic, whose cumulative record against the three other men in his round-robin portion was a perfect 23-0.That might have been especially discouraging for Murray, because of his already mediocre record at the O2 Arena coming in. Despite having nine previous chances to crack the World Tour Finals code, he was just 11-11 -- and never a finalist. His own draw this year was brutal: Murray was 27-12 against Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori and Wawrinka.But Murray did more than survive; he flourished. He made a powerful statement in locking down the three Ws in round-robin play this year, because hes also been forced to march in lockstep with Djokovic all the way. Whoever does better in this tournament will take that grand prize, the top ranking.Murrays win against Wawrinka was deft, swift and critical. He accomplished it in 1 hour, 25 minutes, avoiding the kind of knockdown, drag-out battle he survived with Nishikori in the second round. It means Murray, who unlike Djokovic will not get a day off before the semifinals, ought to recover more easily and have sufficient spring in his legs.Murray is entitled to feel like hes gotten over the hump, even though his job is far from finished. He seems to have come to grips with the pressure he faces from his fellow British countrymen annually at the O2 arena. He also has a right to feel hes got the upper hand on his three potential rivals, starting with Saturdays semifinal opponent, Milos Raonic.If Murrays success makes Djokovic slightly uneasy or makes him wish he were better prepared for the semifinals, its an earned bonus.Murray was a juggernaut entering this event, and he remains one just two matches from its conclusion. On Friday, Murray broke a string during the first point of the final game. He played on, hitting three slice backhands, a lob and a slice approach before Wawrinka ended the point with a passing-shot winner. Its almost unheard of for a player to construct such a point through so many shots with a racket thats essentially unraveling in his hand.But thats the kind of year Murray has had, and its difficult not to read the incident as an omen. Cheap Lorenzo Cain Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Cheap Travis Shaw Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.cheapbrewersjerseys.com/ . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Cheap Jonathan Villar Jersey . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Cheap Eric Thames Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Goaltender Thomas Greiss has been trying to keep the same approach while the New York Islanders have struggled this season.He had to stick with it a little longer Tuesday night.Nick Leddy scored the winner in a marathon 14-round shootout, lifting the Islanders over the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Tuesday night.Greiss faced 41 shots from the Ducks before entering the lengthy shootout, but he stood tall to help New York get its first victory on the road this season. The 30-year-old goalie is 3-3 with a .918 save percentage this season.A lot of guys play to their personalities, coach Jack Capuano said. And hes calm and poised in the net and he battles hard.Greiss made 39 saves and Adam Pelech and Josh Bailey scored in regulation for the Islanders, who had been 0-4-1 on the road this season.We needed the point so badly, Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey said. It started with tonight. That was a big step. Thats a good hockey team on the road, and hopefully we can string something together.Each team had four goals in the shootout through 13 rounds. After Anaheims Kevin Bieksa missed on a slap shot to start Round 14, Leddy waited out Jonathan Bernier before snapping in the winner.Anaheim nearly won in the 12th when officials reviewed a tying goal by Hickey, but officials determined he did not interfere with Bernier on his attempt and awarded him the tally. Hickeys stick made contact with Berniers leg while his pad and the puck both slid over the goal line.I was under the understanding that you cannot score a goal in the NHL today by pushing the goaltenders pad with the puck underneath it over the line, but I guess I was proved wrong again tonight, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.The longest shootout in NHL history was 20 rounds, when Florida beat Washington on Dec. 17, 2014.Rickard Rakell and Cam Fowler each scored and Bernier stopped 33 shots for the Ducks, who dropped consecutive games for only the second time this season. The Ducks lost their first three games to start the season.It did not take long for the Ducks to strike first, with Fowleer picking up his fourth power-play goal of the season 1:04 in to the first period as Greiss just whiffed on stopping the slap shot.ddddddddddddBut the Islanders responded, and Pelech tied it at 1 on a shot from just inside the blue line that trickled through Berniers legs 11:51 into the first. John Tavares was initially credited with the goal as it appeared that he redirected the puck past Bernier, but Pelech eventually got the nod for his first career goal.Bailey put the Islanders ahead 2-1 on a one-timer power-play goal with 3:18 remaining in the first. With two Islanders and two Ducks right on top of Bernier, the goaltender simply did not have the space or time to react to the sudden shot off a fine pass from Tavares.The Ducks then opened fire on Greiss, who was somehow able to close his legs around the loose puck while face down on the ice after rookie Ondrej Kase hit the post in the second period. Rakell picked up his third goal in three games to tie it at 2 with 10:52 remaining in the third period, setting the stage for a extended shootout.We were happy with how we battled back and were able to get a point out of it, so well take that and move on to the next one, Fowler said.New York entered the game with the fewest wins in the NHL and tied with the Arizona Coyotes for fewest points before completing a two-game season sweep against the Ducks.Game notes Ducks D Sami Vatanen left the game because of illness. ... Ducks D Shea Theodore made his season debut, playing 18:46, as Clayton Stoner and Korbinian Holzer were healthy scratches, along with LW Joseph Cramarossa. ... The Islanders scratched C Shane Prince, D Scott Mayfield and G Jaroslav Halak. Jean-Francois Berube was active for the first time this season and backed up Greiss.UP NEXTNew York: Face the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night as their three-game West Coast trip continues.Anaheim: Host the Chicago Blackhawks for their annual Black Friday matinee game. Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale NFL T-shirts China NFL Jerseys NFL T-shirts From China Wholesale NFL Hoodies Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '