Murray clinched his third Grand Slam title as he brushed aside Canada’s Milos Raonic with an imperious 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) victory in Sunday’s final.
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While the world number one’s shock third-round departure from Wimbledon elevated Murray to title favourite, he also knew that one false move on Sunday could leave him with the dubious distinction of becoming the first man in the professional era to lose the finals of the season’s first three grand slams.
Murray was playing his 11th Grand Slam final and for the first time he was the favourite, having faced either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in the previous 10 finals.
“I still feel like my best tennis is ahead of me, that I have an opportunity to win more”, the 29-year-old said. He was playing much better than me off the baseline.
“Milos has had a great few weeks on the grass and had some unbelievable wins, that semi-final against Roger [Federer] was a great match”, said the world number two.
Reid’s singles achievement follows his doubles title from Saturday when he and Alfie became the first all-Brit partnership to win the Wimbledon wheelchair tennis men’s doubles title.
The Scot, who stands second behind Novak Djokovic on the ATP rankings list, now owns three trophies at the majors after defeating Raonic for the sixth time in a row.
Murray has been in superb form over the last three months, reaching the final of his last five events and winning three of them.
Andy Murray proved too strong on both occasions, but Riccardo Piatti, who is the longest-serving member of Raonic’s three-man coaching team, is optimistic about continuing to work with McEnroe. But despite the heartbreaking loss to Murray at Wimbledon, Raonic insisted he would attempt to carry the same level of play and hopes for another masterful run when he hits the hard court in NY.
“I guess this is the tournament that every player has in their mind, the prestige and everything…”
“I just want to keep try and keep winning more if I can”. “The last time it was just pure relief, and I didn’t really enjoy the moment as much, whereas I’m going to make sure I enjoy this one more than the others”.
It’s little surprise, that at the scene of his first Grand Slam title in 2012, Murray expects to be competitive. “He is one of the hardest workers out there, always trying to improve and get better”.
“This one will sting a bit”, he said before facing the world’s media shortly after walking off court.
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“I’m not trying to put him in a box. and have him be an objective observer of the match and wear two hats”, said Jamie Reynolds, an ESPN vice-president overseeing coverage of the tennis tournament.
