Murray finally overcomes Djokovic to win Rogers Cup

Andy Murray has won the Rogers Cup and in the process ended his eight match losing streak against Novak Djokovic, as the Brit outlasted the world number one 6-4 4-6 6-3.

Murray’s all round aggressive play secured him a tight first set, and even though Djokovic hit back to take it to a decider, the Brit held off some fierce resistance to finally overcome the Serbian.

In the opening set, Murray started with intent and his impressive aggression was eventually rewarded as he broke Djokovic for a 3-1 lead. The match had soon become a gruelling battle with punishing rallies but it was the Brit who was getting the better of the Serbian, as Djokovic was producing a few uncharacteristic errors. The world number one was on the brink of conceding a double break at 4-1 down, but once Djokovic held firm, he was quickly galvanised and he retrieved the break en route to levelling the score line at 4-4. The Serbian looked to have all the momentum and had a break point to serve for the set. But, Murray stood strong to edge ahead 5-4, and then capitalised on a series of stinging returns and more unforced errors from his opponent to take the set 6-4.

However, Djokovic raised his level as the second set got underway, and a precise forehand winner gave the Serbian the early break. Even though he clawed back the deficit with some more fine returns and powerful groundstrokes, Murray’s incredible form displayed in the first set had slightly dropped and the world number one immediately regained the break. This time, Djokovic was not to be denied and he successfully served out the set 6-4 to take the match into a decider.

In the third set, Murray was forced to save a break point in the opening game as the world number one threatened to take control of the match. After coming through such a testing game to hold serve, the Brit crafted his own opportunities with some lethal shots, and Murray eventually seized the break with a simple volley at the net. Despite Djokovic’s best efforts to mount a comeback in a titanic fifth game, Murray saved several break points with some exceptional serving and aggressive groundstrokes to maintain his lead. At 5-3, having saved match points on his own serve, Djokovic continued to refuse to lie down and created two break points to get back into the gripping contest. However, Murray responded emphatically to erase the chances once again, and he finally sealed the hard-fought victory when Djokovic placed a backhand wide.