Murray masters Miami to scale up the ranks

Andy Murray and David Ferrer stand with their trophies after Murray defeated Ferrer in the final of the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 31, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Getty Images)

Andy Murray outlasted David Ferrer in a sapping contest under hot and humid conditions to clinch his ninth Masters Series title and claim the second spot in the rankings. The Spaniard proved yet again that he is indeed the nearly man, as he fought gallantly to the bitter end before succumbing to the conditions as much as to his resilient opponent. Murray was wiped off the court in the first set, but made a remarkable recovery to outlast Ferrer in the physically brutal contest to clinch his second Miami Masters title with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) victory in two hours and 46 minutes. The Scot collected 1000 ranking points and $719,160 in prize money for his efforts at the Sony Open, while Ferrer had to be content with 600 points and $350,970 in the bank. Incidentally, Murray’s last ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title had also come at the expense of Ferrer in the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters in China.

The first set turned out to be a red herring in the context of the eventual result – Ferrer raced away with the first five games as the Scot struggled to find his rhythm and get a foot hold into the match. Ferrer started the contest with an ace before holding serve with a ripper down the middle that Murray struggled to control. In contrast, Murray was struggling with his serve and off the ground and despite laboured effort, wasn’t able to prevent being broken twice in a row as Ferrer jumped to a 5-0 lead. The world No. 3 delayed the inevitable by holding serve in the sixth game to get himself on the card, before taking advantage of the Spaniard’s closing jitters to break in the seventh with a thumping forehand down the line winner. In the next game though, Murray made a couple of double faults to get broken to love and surrender the set.

After a first set littered with as many as 19 unforced errors, Murray took advantage of an erratic game from Ferrer early in the second set. In the third game, Ferrer made four errrors including a double fault to offer the Scot a much needed opening. Murray had a comfortable 4-2 lead, but a couple of backhand errors in a closely fought eighth game allowed Ferrer to level the set. Two games from a second Masters Series title, the Spaniard played a loose service game, making errors off both flanks to gift an untimely break to his opponent. Murray earned set point with a service winner down the T, before Ferrer found the net with his backhand cross court to take the match into a third set.

With the Florida Sun beating down hard, both men were visibly tired. It seemed as if holding serve was the toughest part of the game as Ferrer and Murray struggled through the initial phase of the final set. In the fourth game, Ferrer made two consecutive double faults even as he laboured just to put the ball in play. After six consecutive breaks, it was Ferrer who held serve to go up 4-3 and reach within sight of victory yet again. The match though had more in store – Ferrer was broken in the ninth game when he dumped a routine backhand in the net to leave Murray serving for the match. But the Scot was equally inept as he flogged a backhand wide before finding the net with a forehand down the line to bring the set back on serve at 5-5.

In the twelfth game, Ferrer held a match point. In hindsight, he might have sealed his own fate when he decided to halt play to check if a Murray forehand had indeed kissed the line. Hawk-eye confirmed that the ball did land on the baseline. Murray took advantage of the breather to clinch the game when Ferrer baked his backhand too brown to bring about a decisive tie-breaker. The first mini-break came quickly, when a forehand volley from Murray clipped the net to leave Ferrer stranded without a chance. The Scot dominated the breaker from there, to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Down 1-5, Ferrer collapsed on the court with cramps and only played on to see the match through to its completion. A backhand return winner helped Murray clinch the Miami Masters title for a second time in his burgeoning career.

David Ferrer collapses with cramp on the way to his three set defeat by Andy Murray during their final at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 31, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Getty Images)

“It was such a tough match,” surmised Murray. “It could have gone either way, both of us were struggling physically at the end. It’s so tough against him. He has a great attitude, he’s a great fighter. I am sure we will have more tough matches in the future.”

In the end, it was a bruising battle between two weary men in tough conditions, characterized by 15 breaks of serve and 11 double faults. The one thing that shall continue to sting Ferrer most is his dismal 0-13 record against top 5 opponents in title matches. It is a telling statistic that explains partly why the consistent Spaniard’s shelf is shorn of any big titles, except for the BNP Paribas Paris Masters title, which he won last year defeating the up and coming Jerzy Janowicz.

“I know it was a very good chance for me to win Miami. It’s very difficult to win,” reflected Ferrer. “There will be another situation like today, but my life doesn’t change for one match. I need to work hard and to be focused for the next tournaments.”

The top players will enjoy a two week break before they assemble for the next big event. The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters is scheduled to begin on the 14th of April as the tour heads into the busiest part of the calendar. Meanwhile, fans can look forward to the Davis Cup action this coming weekend. Canada is hosting Italy in Vancouver while United States shall have Serbia playing them in Boise. France will be travelling to Buenos Aires to play Argentina and the Czech Republic will head away to Astana to take on Kazakhstan. India will be taking on Indonesia under the lights at the KSLTA Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru between 5 – 7 April.