Murray Perseveres

Rogers Cup
By Hiland Doolittle, August 16th, 2010
Murray Perseveres

Murray Perseveres

The monkey is off Andy Murray’s back and now the 23-year old Scotsman can concentrate on the events ahead. With his convincing win on Sunday, Andy Murray not only defended his Rogers Cup Championship but also defeated Roger Federer in a final match for the first time in his illustrious career.

Murray’s win marked several milestones. In claiming his first title of the year, he became the fifth player to defeat Nadal and Federer in consecutive matches and with his straight set semifinal win over top ranked Nadal, Murray became the first player to defeat a top ranked opponent five times.

After the match Murray said, “Winning a tournament is always great, but it’s the first time I beat Roger and Rafa in the same tournament, which is probably the most pleasing thing, and then didn’t drop a set to either of them.”

Murray came out firing as he quickly jumped to a 3-0, double break lead. Every shot Murray played had purpose and was struck with authority. Murray was clearly sending a message to Federer that he was not intimidated and intended to defend his Rogers Cup.

Get $1000 Bonus on Ladbrokes Poker

Murray has a history of success in Toronto. Last year, the Scotsman beat Juan Martin Del Potro to claim the title. Overall, Murray has an 18-3 record at the Rogers Cup.

Murray began to mount a comeback by breaking in the fourth game to get on the board. Murray played a loose game in the tenth game as he was serving for the set. After some high risk misses, the Scotsman finally double faulted to allow the Swiss to draw even.

No sooner did Federer get the break from Murray then he returned the favor in the 11th game. Federer hit two wayward forehands to provide Murray another opportunity to serve for set. This time, the champion did not falter.

Earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles...

With Federer up 2-1, a rain delay was called. The rain definitely affected the match as neither player was able to build any momentum. The players returned to the court and Murray held serve before the umpire had to call a second rain delay a 2-2.

When play resumed, it was still raining and Federer abruptly lost serve in the fifth game. At 30-30 in the sixth game, a rain delay was once again called. When the players returned, Federer seized the momentum by breaking Murray to level the match at 3-3.

The players finally settled into the match with Murray always pressing Federer. He finally converted a break chance in the 11th game and then served out the match denying Federer his 17th ATP Masters title.

The win was Murray’s seventh in 12 matches with Roger. The conditions were difficult and the match did not have the usual flow, but on this day in Toronto, the championship belonged to the week’s best player, Andy Murray.

Tags:

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.