ONE OF THE BIGGEST WINS I’VE EVER HAD, SAYS TEARFUL STAR

expectations by making it all the way to the final in Antwerp. There he faced an in-form Stanislas Wawrinka but Murray dug in superbly, saving eight of the 12 break points he faced, including several at crucial times, and battled his way to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory. The last time he lifted silverware in a singles tournament came in Dubai back in March 2017, so it was no surprise that the tears quickly flowed. ‘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,’ said Murray. ‘It is amazing to be back playing him in a final once again. 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.’ It was fitting that these two men should be facing each other given that it was their gruelling French Open semi-final two years ago that exacerbated physical issues for both. Murray spent the next 18 months trying to find a solution to his hip problems that would enable him to live without pain, while Wawrinka underwent two knee operations. The 34-year-old is further down the comeback trail than Murray, but it is only this season that he has really returned to something like his old form, with his ranking dropping outside 200 last summer. It is now back up to 18, while Murray’s will leap more than 100 places to 127 today. The 32-year-old, who is a threetime Grand Slam champion, is now expected to take a break until the Davis Cup finals next month while he waits for the birth of his third child with wife Kim. Speaking on Amazon Prime, 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.’