Andy Murray has seized the momentum two weeks before the US Open, the Scot exploding into form with his fifth title of the season on Sunday at the Montreal Masters.
Besides starting the week with a freshly minted world No. 2 ranking, the only British man to ever lift a trophy in Canada will surely be wired for his title defense at the Cincinnati Masters. Murray celebrated his ascent to the second spot, sandwiched in between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, by fighting back in just under three hours to overhaul Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 for the Canadian title.
While victories mean the world to him, there is no denying that Murray is pondering the important marker he passed by moving to his best-ever ranking.
“I love winning tournaments, every player will tell you the same, but I’ve never been to No. 2 before, that’s all new to me. I’ve won a couple of Masters events and that still feels great, but maybe getting the new ranking means a little bit more right now,” he said.
Del Potro, winner a week ago in Washington, looked strong to start, but needed treatment on a shoulder problem in the second set and took an off-court injury time-out to start the third, before fading.
Murray lost a 62-minute opening set, but leveled by winning the tie-breaker in the second, then dominated in the third.
“I had those three aces in the [second set] tie-breaker to get back into it,” Murray said. “Juan Martin served unbelievably in the first two sets. I tried to stay in it to the end. It was tough conditions for both of us out here.”
■CINCINNATI OPEN
AFP, CINCINNATI, OHIO
Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic boosted her US Open hopes with a brisk 6-4, 6-2 victory over world No. 1 Dinara Safina on Sunday in the final of the WTA Cincinnati Open.
“My smile is back and I’m having fun playing the matches,” said Jankovic, who started the year atop the world rankings, but has seen her status slip with a series of lackluster results.
Jankovic bounced back from a tough semi-final victory on Saturday night to claim her second title of the year, after a victory in a clay-court tournament in Marbella in April.
“When I woke up this morning, I felt really sore, especially after going to sleep at 2am,” said Jankovic, who needed almost three hours to overcome Elena Dementieva in the semis — a match in which Jankovic trailed 6-2 in the third-set tie-breaker — but she showed no sign of weariness as she had just nine unforced errors in pocketing the first set over struggling Safina.
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