Djokovic punishes Murray for wastefulness

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Published time: October 14, 2012 13:19
Edited time: October 14, 2012 18:02

Serb tennis star Novak Djokovic ended his two-game losing streak against Britain’s Andy Murray in the final of the Shanghai Masters in China.

­Murray recently became a difficult opponent for the Djokovic, beating him in the semis at the London Olympics and at the US Open.

Both players were far from perfect on their serve in the opening set, jointly making seven breaks.

Djokovic was up 40-0  in the 11th game, but somehow allowed his opponent to bounce back and claim the set.

The second set turned out even tighter, culminating in an exhausting 24-point tie-break. A two-time winner in Shanghai, Murray had five match balls in that one, but the Serb stood firm and sent the encounter into the third set.

Djokovic clearly saved more mental and physical strength for the deciding set, bagging a 7-5, 6-7 (11-13), 6-3 win.

"It was a thrilling match, very long – three-and-a-half for best of three is quite long. But I have got used to it," Djokovic is cited as saying by SuperSport website. "Whenever I play Andy I know it's going to be a grueling fight, a lot of long rallies. It could have gone either way.

"I could not say I dominated the match because all three sets were very close and he had some match points and opportunities to finish the match. I could have easily been a runner-up today but I'm very proud of my fight," the 25-year-old added.

The triumph in Shanghai was Djokovic's 13th ATP Masters title and 33rd career singles trophy.