Third time's a charm

Murray downs Dimitrov to end his China Open title drought

BEIJING: Andy Murray beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to win the China Open as he closes in on Novak Djokovic’s number one ranking.

The world number two did not drop a set as he romped through the tournament to claim his fifth title of the year and 40th of his career with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) win.

The victory moves Murray 1,000 points closer to long-reigning world number one Djokovic, with the chance of taking the top spot by year-end.

Murray broke Dimitrov’s serve in the opening game of the match, putting the 15th-ranked Bulgarian on the defensive and pushing him to make 21 unforced errors in the opening set.

In the second set, both held their serve through the first four games until Murray broke Dimitrov at 3-2. But with Murray serving for the championship at 5-4, Dimitrov won the longest point of the match (43 shots) and would suddenly break to love. Swinging freely with increased aggression from the baseline, a run of eleven consecutive points turned the tide in Dimitrov’s favour.

Pushed to a tiebreak, the Scot immediately seized back control, taking the first point of the decider on Dimitrov’s serve.

Murray stormed through the tiebreak, dropping just two points to claim his first China Open title in his third attempt.

He reached the quarter-finals on his debut and the semi-finals in 2014. The win also puts the world No. 2 in elite company as just the 16th member of the “40 Titles Club” in the Open era. — Agencies