Britain’s Andy Murray beat Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday to win the Miami Masters and clinch his third title of the year.
The world No. 4 wrapped up victory after reeling off the last five games of the second set having seen Djokovic, the world No. 3, throw away his chance to level the final.
The Serbian, the champion in 2007, had served for the second set leading 5-3, but a fifth double-fault disrupted his fightback and his game quickly fell apart. Murray, the first three-time winner on the ATP Tour this year, also made further inroads on Djokovic’s world No. 3 ranking with only 170 points now separating them.
PHOTO: AFP
The 21-year-old Scot dominated Djokovic for most of the match as the Serbian fell prey to a total of 43 unforced errors.
Djokovic called for the trainer early in the second set and Murray’s level subsequently dipped slightly, although the Scot said it wasn’t necessarily because of any distraction.
“If you look at the next game or so, he started rushing me,” Murray said. “He started coming forward more and he hadn’t been doing that. He went for broke a little bit and tried to shorten the points. He hit the ball well. I struggled a little bit, but it wasn’t just because of the timeout he took.”
Djokovic broke Murray twice to win four games in a row, then the Scot won a marathon game to hold for 2-4 and regained the momentum.
Overall Murray kept Djokovic off-balance with his variety of pace and direction, while thwarting his attempts to come to the net with precise passing.
Murray’s day included two second-serve aces, including one 122kph ace that flummoxed Djokovic.
“The majority of players now play so well from the baseline and both sides, that if you can use some slice and drop shots, some high balls and stuff, it just takes them out of their comfort zone,” Murray said. “It’s my way of dictating how the match is getting played. A lot of people might not necessarily think my game looks the most aggressive or offensive, but very few times will I not have the points played how I like them to be played.”
Murray, the first British finalist in Miami for 25 years, took victory when Djokovic went long with a lame volley after 1hour, 42 minutes on court. The 21-year-old Scotsman, who had raced through the first set with two breaks taking him to 4-0 lead, has now won three Masters titles. He was the champion in Cincinnati and Madrid last year.
“I think any time you win a tournament, obviously it gives you confidence,” said Murray, who also reached the final of the Masters event at Indian Wells last month.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS