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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However, Murray fought back immediately and once more the break was confirmed courtesy of a double fault as the Scot’s unorthodox position to his opponent’s serve saw him push his second try too deep again.
Murray will fall to three in the world in the new rankings on Monday behind Roger Federer after failing to defend his title. “Both guys hit the ball much flatter than Rafa, so it’s different”, Murray said. “When I had to defend, I did that well”.
The 28-year-old seemed to lose focus at times in the second set, but he recovered well to begin the third, holding serve and immediately finding two break chances on Murray’s serve.
“I’ve been three years away from Madrid and I missed it”, said Djokovic, who last played the event in 2013. “Not saying he played his best tennis today, but I think he played better than previous year”. Having been stopped by Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in Monte Carlo, Murray got past the most decorated clay-court player of all time in Saturday’s semifinals in the Spanish capital. “Very pleased to have beaten him this year”.
“Big, big step for me from where I was four or five weeks ago”, Murray said.
“When you play against the best players, you are probably not going to win every single time”, said Murray.
In a thrilling deciding set Djokovic again broke serve only for Murray to break back immediately.
It was Nadal’s first loss after 13 straight wins in 2016. The former No. 1 was trying to win his third consecutive title after triumphs in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. He had already won in Indian Wells and Miami, and had also clinched the Australian Open in a final against Murray. “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”.
“Novak has had a lot of wins against me in the last couple of years unfortunately but he has done some great things and also deserved this win”, the Scot added.
Yesterday, when his serve was faltering and when Nadal tried to apply the pressure, Murray held firm.
It is always hard to maintain such a level against Nadal, who found a way to stick close to Murray despite being stifled, and broke back in each set to rouse the Caja Magica.
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Maybe that thought was staying with him, as Murray needed no such tribulation, converting on his first chance to break Nadal in the second set.
