Tearful Murray shrugs off his injury setbacks to lift first title for two years

ANDY MURRAY broke down in tears after winning his first title in more than two years.

The former world No.1 underwent career-saving hip surgery in January.

And the Scot defied the odds to see off Stan Wawrinka and lift the European Open in Antwerp.

The two-time Wimbledon champion waved to the crowd after seeing off Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4.

But seconds later he was in tears and sat for a while hiding his head in a towel.

He said: “Obviously it means a lot, the last few years have been extremely difficult, both me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems the last couple of years.

“It’s amazing to be back playing him in a final. I think it was a great match, Stan was playing unbelievable, hitting winners from all over the court.

“I just managed to hang in a bit at the end of the second set and the third set was extremely close again. I didn’t expect to be in this position so

I’m very happy.

“This is one of the biggest wins that I’ve had after everything so I’m very proud.”

The victory came in his sixth singles tournament since returning from a hip resurfacing operation.

Wawrinka was in the ascendancy for the vast majority of the contest, but Murray dug in superbly, saving eight of the 12 break points he faced, including several at crucial times.

The last time he lifted silverware in singles came in Dubai in March 2017, so it was no surprise the tears flowed.

Murray’s world ranking had been down to No.243 earlier in the week, but that will leap more than 100 places to 127 today.

The Scot was playing for a fourth day in a row having fought off heavy legs to defeat Ugo Humbert in Saturday’s semi-finals.

But tiredness will remain a big part of his life anyway as wife Kim is about to give birth to their third child.

Murray joked: “I’ll have three kids under four years old. I need to get on the road so we don’t get out of control.

“I’m excited for the third kid. My wife’s been a huge support for getting me back on the court and making me fight to keep playing.”

He is now expected to take a break until the Davis Cup finals next month.