Murray overcame “king of clay” Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the semi-finals on Saturday, while Djokovic edged past Kei Nishikori 6-3 7-6 (4), needing a tie break in the second set to seal the win.
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There is still another match to win today if Murray is to defend his title and protect his No. 2 ranking, but looking ahead to the French Open which starts in a couple of weeks, Nadal thinks Murray is ready to make his mark there.
Watch the 2016 Madrid Open final: Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray live streaming via Tennis TV or the ATP YouTube Channel. That was disappointing. Then obviously the last game I don’t know how many break-point chances I had, but must have been six or seven.
The Spaniard couldn’t back up the break, though, as he dumped a smash into the net to bring up two more match points and then also found the net with a regulation forehand to hand Murray victory in just over two hours on court. Still third time’s the charm as they say and finally, as Murray was serving for the match, Nadal saved the match points and finally broke the Brit’s serve.
Murray managed to save a championship point in the eighth game of the deciding set and another in the ninth.
Last year’s finalists, who practised together last week in Mallorca, have gone back and forth on clay in recent years.
Murray became the first player to ever beat Nadal at the same clay tournament in consecutive years. “I came here early, got used to the conditions, and played a really fantastic tournament that will definitely serve as a great confidence boost before Rome and of course French Open, where I want to arrive in a best possible shape”.
After enduring a hard last season or so, Nadal was getting back to his best, just as major Grand Slams are around the corner.
Murray weathered the storm for the remainder of the set and a delicious drop shot hauled him back on to terms with a 6-3 success.
Trying to pump himself up, Murray worked through a demanding deuce hold with a shout on serve at 2-1 in the second set. “I think in the second it was a different story”, said Nadal. “In general, he was a little bit better than me”, Nadal said, “and we have to congratulate him for his victory and recognise that he played better than me in the important moments”.
Nadal had nine break points in the second set alone, converting only one.
It was Nadal’s first loss after 13 straight wins this year. “I had another positive week”.
He added: “Today I needed to keep my sort of intensity very high and concentrate on every point”.
Djokovic began the final on a tear, sweeping the opening set in 30 minutes only to see Murray rise to the occasion by winning the second.
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Simona Halep is aiming for a clay court double after sweeping to the Madrid Open title last week, dropping just one set en route.
