The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsAndy Murray has moved nearer to potentially becoming the new world number one as the Brit captured the Shanghai Rolex Masters title with a 7-6 6-1 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. Murray was made to work in the opener as he conceded his serve after failing to capitalise on set points at 5-4, but the world number two overcame his battling opponent in the eventual tie-break before eventually cruising through the second set to complete the victory.
In the opening set, both players were able to hold their first few service games comfortably but Bautista Agut was doing well initially to edge ahead, recovering from 30-0 down in the fifth game of the set to go 3-2 up. However, Murray quickly levelled the scoreline at 3-3 and in the following game, the combination of the Brit’s offensive threat and patience in the rallies was eventually too much for his opponent, as a netted backhand from Bautista Agut handed the world number two the crucial break. Even though he was pushed to deuce on his next service game, Murray was able to just hold off his opponent and consolidate the break to open up a 5-3 lead, before the Spaniard reduced the deficit. As Murray served for the set at 5-4, the Brit held several set points but he was unable to close it out, as Bautista Agut’s incredible resistance was rewarded and he gained the break back with a forehand winner. With the momentum firmly in his favour, the Spaniard capitalised on his unsettled opponent to quickly move 6-5 ahead but the world number two steadied himself to force a tie-break. In the tie-break, Murray was too strong in the baseline rallies as it was Bautista Agut who broke down first by committing the errors. Even though he was pushed hard towards the end, the Brit had responded magnificently and Murray claimed the set when Bautista Agut hit a backhand return wide.
As the second set unfolded, Murray started with a quick hold of serve and an error strewn game from Bautista Agut saw the world number two gain the early break for a 2-0 lead. Even though the Spaniard immediately hit back by breaking his opponent, a series of costly double faults from Bautista Agut in the next game allowed Murray to regain the break advantage, which this time he consolidated to establish a 4-1 lead. The world number two then ruthlessly raised his aggression to press for the double break and Bautista Agut was simply unable to cope, as the dispirited Spaniard netted a drop shot attempt to concede his serve again. With a commanding 5-1 margin and now serving for the title, Murray emphatically wrapped up the victory with an overhead smash to seal his sixth title of the season.
With this win, Murray has won the event for a third time and adds a 13th Masters 1000 title to his career, but more significantly, the Brit has reduced the gap to only 915 points between himself and Novak Djokovic’s number one ranking with the Serb having suffered a shock defeat in the Shanghai semi-finals to Bautista Agut.
On the women’s side, Caroline Wozniacki claimed the WTA Hong Kong Open title with a 6-1 6-7 6-2 win over Kristina Mladenovic.
