WHEN IN ROME . . .
Birthday boy Andy Murray overcomes Djokovic curse to win Italian Open
ANDY MURRAY celebrated his birthday in style by beating Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final in Rome.
Murray, turning 29 and the first Briton to win the Italian crown in the Open era, was in scintillating form against world number one Djokovic, who had won 12 of his 13 matches against the Scot since the 2013 Wimbledon final.
Four-time champion Djokovic was second best against Murray, who beat the Serb for the first time on clay and clinched his 12th ATP Masters 1000 title ahead of the French Open, starting next weekend.
“Each time I go up against him Novak, I know I have to play a great match to win,” said Murray afterwards.
“I’ve had great preparation now going into the French Open. I have played against Rafa a couple of times, Novak a couple of times. You know, not won all of the matches, but competed extremely well even in the ones I have lost.
“I’m going to Roland Garros with a lot of confidence. Over best of five, as well, takes a little bit more physical and mental strength.
“But I feel like I’m on the right track. So hopefully I can have a good run there.”
Murray needed less than an hour to overcome Frenchman Lucas Pouille in his semi-final on Saturday, while Djokovic required more than three hours to see off Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a game which finished at 11.13pm local time. Unsurprisingly Murray made the better start, forcing a trio of break chances in Djokovic’s first service game that he was denied.
But with rain threatening at Foro Italico, Djokovic was off target with a backhand two games later and Murray, who returns to world number two, broke to take a 3-1 lead.
Djokovic beat Murray in last week’s Madrid Open final to lead the pair’s head-to-heads 23-9, but failed to adapt to the slippery conditions as well as his inspired opponent, who opened up a 5-2 lead before wrapping up the opening set 6-3 in 46 minutes with a brilliant forehand drop shot.
Murray fired 11 winners in the opening set and began the second in similar vein with the confidence to open up with his full repetiore of shot-making that had Djokovic, bidding for his 30th ATP Masters 1000 title, on the backfoot.
The British number one broke Djokovic again in the fifth game of the second set and a superb overhead backhand volley helped him hold serve in the next game to go 4-2 up and put one hand on the trophy.
Djokovic, who would have passed the $100 million-mark in prize money with victory, looked weary after his late-night triumph against Nishikori and continually conveyed his displeasure at the conditions with several stares and expletive exchanges with the umpire.
He held serve to trail 4-3 in the decider, but was broken again by a rampant Murray, who claimed the second set 6-3 and completed the perfect preparation for next week’s French Open, with an outrageous off-court passing shot. The Scot admitted that he now feels on home at clay, despite the surface being the most alien for him in the early stages of his career.
He added: “The finals of a Masters Series on clay again is something that’s a new experience for me.
“It’s not really something I have done throughout my career, so it’s nice to still be achieving new things and reaching new goals at this stage of my career.
“The last couple of years, clay has probably been my most successful surface. I never expected that to be the case, but I’m not complaining about it.”
The Italian Open crown was Murray’s first tournament success following the birth of his daughter, Sophia, in January.
“The last thing I looked at before I went on court today was a picture of my daughter,” Murray reveals.
“I feel like that’s what I’m playing for now, so that in a few years hopefully she can be proud of what I have achieved.”
Djokovic was generous in his praise of Murray during the trophy presentation but had a go at the chair umpire during the post-match press conference. Damian Steiner had issued a code violation to the Serb for racket abuse during the first set. “The chair umpire was on fire today,” mocked Djokovic. “He really wanted to show the authority to me and to everybody, so congratulations to him.”
The pair also disagreed about whether play should be suspended, with Djokovic struggling with the heaviness of the clay on a drizzly evening in the Italian capital. “In three games I literally could have twisted my ankle two or three times,” Djokovic said.