ANDY MURRAY HOLDS OFF DJOKOVIC TO CAPTURE ROGERS CUP TENNIS TITLE IN MONTREAL CANADA

Written by: Staff on 16th August 2015

ANDY MURRAY HOLDS OFF DJOKOVIC TO CAPTURE ROGERS CUP TENNIS TITLE IN MONTREAL CANADA

Andy Murray of Great Britain holds his trophy after his victory against Serbian Novak Djokovic in their men's final singles match at the Rogers Cup Open ATP tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada, 16 August 2015. EPA/ANDRE PICHETTE |

By Ricky Dimon

Andy Murray ended an eight-match losing streak to Novak Djokovic and won the Rogers Cup on Sunday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory that required exactly three hours to be completed.

“To win this one was nice, especially the way the match went,” Murray said. “I fought well and stayed calm in the important moments of the third set. It would have been easy for me to let that one slip away.”

Slip away is exactly what matches against Djokovic have done for Murray in the recent past. In fact, twice already this year they have played five-setters against each other (at the Australian Open and the French Open) and the scorelines went 6-0 and 6-1 in favor of the Serb.

Another Murray meltdown seemed to be coming midway through the deciding set at 3-1, but the Scot saved seven break points to survive a marathon game that lasted an incredible 18 minutes.

“Andy is deservedly a winner today on the court,” Djokovic assessed. “I thought what made the difference was his serve and my serve. I didn’t serve well the first set and a half. He deserved it. He stepped in, played some great shots. Most of all the moments when he needed to, he served very, very well.”

Serbian Novak Djokovic returns a ball to Andy Murray of Great Britain during their men’s final match at the Rogers Cup Open ATP tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada, 16 August 2015. EPA/ANDRE PICHETTE

How well? Sixty percent of first serves in and eight aces to go along with five double-faults are common enough numbers, but Murray raised his level when it mattered most. For the match, the No. 2 seed fought off 11 of 14 break points–including nine of nine in the third set.

Djokovic suffered his first setback at a Masters 1000 event this entire season. The world No. 1 had previously triumphed in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Rome (he did not play Madrid).

Murray captured the 11th Masters 1000 title of his career and third at the Rogers Cup. He has now clinched a spot in the World Tour Finals and will become No. 2 in the world on Monday ahead of Roger Federer.

Andy Murray of Great Britain (R) poses withhis trophy after defeating Serbian Novak Djokovic (L) during their men’s final singles match at the Rogers Cup Open ATP tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada, 16 August 2015. EPA/ANDRE PICHETTE

Rogers Cup rankings recap

* Murray passes Federer for No. 2 in the world with Rogers Cup title

* Nadal jumps Cilic at No. 8 despite quarterfinal loss to Nishikori

* Tsonga surges back into top 20 (18th) with quarterfinal showing

* Chardy soars 22 spots to No. 27 by reaching semifinals

* Sock moves into U.S. Open seed position at No. 30

* Gulbis climbs 19 places to 68th thanks to quarterfinal performance

* Young makes double-digit move into top 70 at No. 69

* Youzhny charges into top 100 (91st) with third-round finish

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Montreal final, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Rogers Cup tennis, Sports, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

August 16, 2015 at 11:11 pm

-@andy_murray HOLDS OFF @DjokerNole TO CAPTURE @rogerscup #tennis TITLE IN #Montreal CANADA- http://t.co/o1ZCyTO8Ev #RogersCup #ATPMontreal
VonBze says:

August 17, 2015 at 1:30 am

RT @TennisNewsOne: ANDY MURRAY HOLDS OFF DJOKOVIC TO CAPTURE ROGERS CUP TENNIS TITLE IN MONTREAL CANADA http://t.co/K51KLgQdJ0 #tennis
talboysjane says:

August 17, 2015 at 2:06 am

RT @TennisNewsOne: ANDY MURRAY HOLDS OFF DJOKOVIC TO CAPTURE ROGERS CUP TENNIS TITLE IN MONTREAL CANADA http://t.co/K51KLgQdJ0 #tennis