Tennis: Medvedev halts Murray heroics to take Qatar title

DOHA, Qatar -- Daniil Medvedev beat fellow former world number one Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 in the Qatar Open final on Saturday to win his second ATP title in a week.

The 27-year-old, who won in Rotterdam last Sunday, convincingly ended his 35-year-old opponent's comeback heroics that saw Murray fight four three-set battles and overcome eight match points to reach the final in Doha.

Medvedev broke Murray's first serve in each set as he remained unbeaten in three encounters between the two. His 17th career title should see him move up one place to seventh in the new world rankings.

Medevedev said both players struggled to find their rhythm in the wind but also complained about new match balls used on the tour,

"Honestly now I can say this now that the tournament is over, and also I won, I think that these balls are not good for hard courts," said the Russian.

"They changed something this year and I don't like them. I heard a lot of other players are struggling with shoulders, elbows and wrists.

"Myself I had wrist problems in Australia. Generally I think I was struggling all week to find the perfect rhythm with these balls, but I am happy to win."

Medvedev fired down five aces but also committed six double faults. 

Murray repeatedly shouted at himself and his support team after errors.

Medvedev had seemed to be cruising to victory in the second set until he was serving at 3-2 up with two game points. Murray fought back and produced a brilliant backhand winner to surge back into the clash at 3-3.

At 4-4, Murray was leading 40-0 in a bid to produce another shock, but the Scot let Medvedev get back into the game for the key break that decided the title.

"Daniil is one of my favorite players to watch and one of the best on the tour," said Murray, who acknowledged he had been through an "amazing week".

Murray is expected to rise from 70th to 52 in the world rankings. But he said that after his grueling week he would speak with his team before deciding whether to compete in the Dubai tournament this week. 

Murray saved three match points in his first round game and five against Czech challenger Jiri Lehecka in his semi-final. 

He spent more than 12 hours on court during his week in Doha and conscious of his 2019 hip replacement surgery and will see what toll that has taken.

"All were pretty tough matches physically so at my age and with the conditions I do have to be mindful of those things," he said.

"Definitely there are some things to work on but I am proud of my week and the work that me and my team have put in to get me back to this stage."

Medvedev said he would fly to Dubai on Sunday to prepare for an event boosted by his second straight title but wary of the fact that he could meet world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-final.

"It is all about confidence and as it can come really fast it can go away really fast with one loss. I feel really great right now but next week is a new challenge."

Agence France-Presse

Djokovic easily beats Murray to win Paris Masters title

 

PARIS — Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-2, 6-4 to win the Paris Masters for the third straight year and a record fourth time overall, dominating the second-seeded Briton from the outset in a one-sided final.

The top-ranked Serb was largely untroubled clinching his 10th title of the season — four ahead of Roger Federer and six more than Murray. It was the 58th title of his career and 26th in Masters events, two more than Federer and one behind leader Rafael Nadal.

“I am obviously very proud and very happy to win this title again,” the 28-year-old Djokovic said. “It’s a great tournament and all the best players in the world were here.”

Djokovic also extended his winning streak to 22 matches, and will be the favorite to win the season-ending ATP finals for the fourth straight time when that tournament starts in London on Nov. 15.

Despite dropping only one set on the way to the final, Murray simply could not compete as Djokovic won his sixth Masters title of the year — setting a new record.

“It’s been an incredible year for him, well done,” Murray said.

Serving for the match, Djokovic clenched his fist and yelled when Murray’s return landed out to give him match point. When Murray’s aggressive two-handed backhand went just wide, he turned and blew a kiss to his coach Boris Becker — who has won this event three times.

In their 30th career meeting, Djokovic improve to 21-9 against Murray, a two-time Grand Slam winner who beat the Serb in the 2013 Wimbledon final.

But since then, Djokovic has won 10 of their 11 encounters. His only loss during that spell was in August, when Murray beat him in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal.

The second point of the match lasted 22 strokes, but that was about as competitive as it got.

Djokovic broke Murray at love in the third game, and the Briton had to save three break points in the fifth. Djokovic then held at love and broke again before serving out the set in 42 minutes.

Murray dropped his serve again to trail 2-1 in the second set but broke right back, only for Djokovic to get another break in the seventh game when the Briton’s forehand sailed long.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Djokovic improves to 25-0 at China Open with 1st-round win

BEIJING — Novak Djokovic improved his perfect record at the China Open to 25-0 by beating Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-1, 6-1 Tuesday in the first round.

The top-seeded Djokovic’s winning streak started in 2009, when he won the first of his five titles at the tournament. He has dropped only three sets out of 51 in his five appearances. He didn’t play in 2011.

Besides singles, Djokovic is also teaming with younger brother Djordje in doubles for the first time at an ATP Tour event.

Rafael Nadal also advanced to the second round, beating Chinese wild-card entry Wu Di 6-4, 6-4. Nadal dropped serve four times in the match, including three straight games in the second set.

The third-seeded Nadal is in the uncharacteristic position of needing a strong finish to the season to qualify for the ATP Finals in London next month.

The Spaniard looked to be cruising against the No. 230-ranked Wu, playing his first top-10 opponent, when he broke to take a 1-0 lead in the second set. But Wu broke right back, and then twice more before Nadal was finally able to serve it out.

“I think I played little bit too … far away from the baseline,” Nadal said. “The last three games of the match I was playing better. I hit some good forehands down the line and that’s why I finished well.”

On the women’s side, U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta of Italy rallied to advance to the third round with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over Teliana Pereira of Brazil.

Also, eighth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Chinese wild-card entry Wang Qiang 7-5, 6-0, and 10th-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-4.

For the second straight day, the pollution in Beijing reached hazardous levels, according to the U.S. Embassy’s real-time air quality index.

“The pollution, I think we’re used to it when we play here,” Wozniacki said. “You know, we just play. We just play.”

source: sports.inquirer.net