Murray keeps the heat on Djokovic
Print Edition
ANDY Murray powered his way to a third Shanghai Rolex Masters title by beating Spanish 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(1), 6-1 in yesterday’s final to close in on Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings.
Bautista Agut beat world No. 1 Djokovic in the semifinal on Saturday but was brought back down to earth by three-time grand slam champion Murray, who converted all his four break points to wrap up the match in one hour 37 minutes.
Murray, who won the China Open in Beijing a week ago, is now 915 points behind Djokovic in the Race to London rankings, with a chance of surpassing the Serb and finishing the year in top spot. The second-ranked Murray is now on a 10-match winning streak in which he has won 20 straight sets.
The Scot is the only player to contest in four Shanghai finals, and joins Djokovic with the distinction of displaying three Shanghai trophies at home. He won the previous titles here in 2010, 2011 and 2016.
Djokovic won his three in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
“In the last few months, I have won a lot of matches and made improvements. I have been moving forward better and changed the direction of the ball better,” world No. 2 Murray told reporters. “I have also come up with some bigger serves when I have needed them.”
With three tournaments remaining, the season-ending Tour Finals in London could play a pivotal role in deciding who finishes at the top of the standings at the end of the year. Murray, however, was less than optimistic over his chances of usurping Djokovic and said the 12-time grand slam champion was still “the best player in the world.”
“My goal wasn’t to finish No. 1 at the end of this year but in the early parts of next year there is an opportunity — 900 points doesn’t seem like loads,” Murray added.
“But Novak will win matches. He is the best player in the world. I don’t think he has lost an indoor game in a long time.”
In yesterday’s final, Bautista Agut forced a tight opening set into a tiebreak, but the 29-year-old Briton raised his level to then win seven points in a row. Murray took control of proceedings in the second set as an aggressive Bautista Agut, who made 25 unforced errors during the match, failed to maintain his intensity.
Nineteenth-ranked Bautista, who was playing his first Masters final, said Murray’s ambition was obvious.
“I think I can see it in his eyes. He’s really focused on getting No. 1,” the Spaniard said.
With his 41st tournament victory and sixth this year, Murray joins Stefan Edberg in joint 15th place on the list of Open-era title winners.
“It’s not yet over. There are a couple of big tournaments still along the way: Paris and London,” Djokovic warned after his semifinal loss on Friday.
“I’ll try to get ready for the indoor season where I always, in the last couple of years, played pretty well. I’ll try to get better.”
Recent months have not been kind to Djokovic, who has suddenly and mystifyingly lost his way after winning six of his 12 grand slam titles in a stunning two-year period.
Order was restored when Djokovic won in Toronto but he then crashed out of the Rio Olympics’ first round in tears and was bullied in the US Open final by Stan Wawrinka.
Wrist and elbow injuries have played a role and Djokovic has also admitted to struggling with “private issues.”
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