Match report

Gilles Simon © Tennistalk.com
ATP Masters Series Madrid
Final
10/19/08 1 2 Tot
fr  Gilles Simon 4 6 6 0
gb  Andy Murray 6 7 8 2
Andy Murray © Tennistalk.com

  • Andy Murray wins consecutive Masters

    10/19/08 7:57 PM | Cheryl Murray
    Great Britain’s Andy Murray took on surprise finalist Gilles Simon for the title in Madrid. Murray has recently cemented himself as one of the big guns in men’s tennis.

    This match was a startling contrast to Simon’s seminfinal battle against Rafael Nadal. Against Nadal, Simon was aggressive with his forehand and showed impressive stamina. In this final, the Frenchman was obviously fatigued from his marathon match against Nadal on Saturday. Murray had to do little more than push the ball in play and serve well to get the straight set victory - and serve well he did.

    Murray served at 67% for the match, a remarkably high number for the young Scot. His usual serving numbers hover in the fifties and sometimes even below. When his first serve percentage is close to 70%, he is nearly impossible to beat. He did not face a single break point on his own serve in the first set. The set was essentially decided at 2-2 on Simon’s serve. Murray burst out to a 0-40 lead before dumping a forehand into the net on his first break point chance. Simon saved another with a spectacular back hand, but Murray converted on the third, setting up an error from Simon with a well-placed lob. The single break was all Murray needed to pocket the first set.

    The second set played out nearly the same as the first, except that Murray did not secure an early break. Murray continued to serve well, and once again made it through the set without facing a break point. The set progressed with little drama until the tiebreak. Simon drew first blood in the tiebreak at 5-5 on Murray’s serve, setting up a couple of set points for the Frenchman, the first of which was on Murray’s serve. The Scot put in a good first serve to erase the first, but the second was on Simon’s serve. Murray put in a good return, then pummeled Simon with deep, heavy groundstrokes forcing an error into the net and leveling the tiebreak. Murray took the match on a brilliant backhand at full stretch that forced Simon’s volley wide.

    The win adds to the Scot’s spectacular second half of the year. He won Cincinnati, made the finals of the US Open and now has Madrid to his credit. Murray heads into the Paris Masters event as one of the clear favorites.

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