Andy Murray recorded his first win over Novak Djokovic in more than two years on Sunday, beating the world No. 1 in the final of the Rogers Cup 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Murray snapped an eight-match losing streak against Djokovic with his first win over the Serb since the 2013 Wimbledon final, then dedicated the victory to his coach Amelie Mauresmo, who gave birth to a baby boy earlier in the day.
“I am not sure she will have stayed up to watch this one but, Amelie, this one is for you,” Murray said.
Photo: AP
The Scotsman climbed a spot to No. 2 in the world rankings after capturing his fourth title of the year in a major boost to his confidence ahead of the US Open, starting in New York at the end of the month.
Djokovic suffered just his fourth loss this year and his first in a Masters Series finals since falling to Roger Federer in Cincinnati in 2012.
“Andy is deservedly a winner today on the court,” Djokovic said.
Photo: AFP
“I thought what made the difference was his serve and my serve. I did not serve well the first set-and-a-half,” he added.
“Not taking anything away from him, from his victory. He deserved it. He stepped in, played some great shots... He served very, very well,” Djokovic added.
Murray got the decisive break in the second game of the final set, but had to survive an 18-minute service game to consolidate his lead in the fifth game before claiming his third title on the Canadian hard courts, and first since 2010.
“We have played many matches like that,” Murray said. “If this was the US Open, we would have to play another couple of sets like that, which is not easy.”
“He is obviously one of the best returners in the world and he obviously has a lot of confidence to stand and fight right to the end, so you have to play right to the end of the match and weather the storms when they come, and I managed to that today,” Murray added.
Born just a week apart, Murray and Djokovic have known each other since they were children, attending the same training camps and competing against each other in junior events.
Fierce rivals on the court, the pair embraced at the net after a three-hour battle of attrition that left both men exhausted as courtside temperatures reached 40oC.
“Everybody wants me and Novak to dislike each other and people always try to stir things up between us,” Murray said. “It is impossible to be extremely close when we are playing in these sorts of matches, because it is so mentally challenging and physically demanding, and you need to try to still have that competitive edge as well.”
“It is not easy, not only because we get on, but because he is bloody good. He is No. 1 in the world and he has not lost in a Masters Series this year. To win against him is extremely tough,” Murray added.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
Taiwan’s Lin Cheng-jing won a bronze medal in the clean and jerk in the women’s under-49 kg division at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain on Saturday. Lin won her first medal at a World Weightlifting Championships for lifting 107kg in the clean and jerk in her weight class, 2kg more than Rosegie Ramos of the Philippines. However, Ramos won bronze for the combined lift after topping Lin by 5kg in the snatch. Ri Song-gum of North Korea won gold in the division’s combined lift with a total of 213kg, while Xiang Linxiang of China took silver with
RSS