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Andy Murray sealed his 35th career title in three sets on Sunday, as he ended his dire drought against Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Murray had lost eight matches straight against the world number one, but his victory saw a two-year losing streak with Novak end.
The first set belonged to the Scot, as he won 6-4 – before Djokovic hit back, taking the second 6-4. Murray then sealed the Championship in the final set as he took the Serb down 6-3.
The Scot will now rise to number two in the new ATP rankings for the first since 2013, as he takes Roger Federer’s spot.
Murray told the media after yesterdays victory: “Things can better very quickly and they can get worse very quickly in sport. It’s important for me to analyse this week and work on areas to improve on before the US Open starts.
“I need to make sure I recover well from this and get ready and hopefully play a good tournament in Cincinnati. This match will be good physically and mentally for the build up for sure.”
Known for his good sportsmanship, it was no surprise that fans favourite Djokovic was graceful in defeat, as he said, “I lost to a better player today. I lost to Andy, who I know very well. I did fight till the last point and did try my best. That’s something that I take as a positive from this week.”
The Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati began on Monday, but Murray and Djokovic both received Byes into the second round. Murray will face the winner of Victor Troicki and Mardy Fish, whilst Djokovic will play either Gilles Muller or Benoit Paire.
The Championship in Cincinnati works as a good warm up before the big one begins Monday August 31st. Yes, we’re talking about the start of the US Open Championship 2015.
Despite his loss to Murray on Sunday, Djokovic is of course still the bookies favourite to take the title win with odds as short as 11/10. Murray is a respectable 10/3 whilst Federer is 15/2, despite reaching the final of Wimbledon a little over a month ago. Rafa Nadal continues to lose his reputation as one of the greatest in tennis at the moment, but punters can back him at a long shot of 11/1.
Murray won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open back in 2012, and having defeated Djok for the first time in two years going into this years Open, you can be sure the Scot will be full of confidence, and hoping for a repeat of 2012.