Defending champion Andy Murray didn’t breeze through his two-set match against Spain’s David Ferrer in the final round of this year’s Shanghai tournament. But he did keep his title, and extended his win streak to 15 straight matches.
Andy Murray Repeats As Shanghai Masters Champion, Moves To No. 3 In World
Getty Images
Murray beat Ferrer 7-5,6-4 in the last singles match of the tournament on Sunday.
Ferrer reached the finals after defeating Feliciano Lopez in three sets. Murray breezed to the finals with a 6-3, 6-0 win against Kei Nishikori of Japan.
The championship win puts Murray ahead of Roger Federer in the ATP world rankings. He is now the World No. 3. Exactly where he said he wanted to be.
It is the first time Federer fell out of the top three since June 2003, which was just weeks before the Swiss won his first Wimbledon title.
Murray has won two-straight tournament titles to end the season, this one in Shanghai and one previously against Rafael Nadal at the Japan Open. The British tennis player has also won the last 25 of his 26 matches. That one loss was to Nadal who beat Murray in the semifinal match of the U.S.Open.
“I was really happy with the way I stayed focused,” Murray said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s almost you’d think the more matches you win, the less pressure you feel. I was hitting the ball well, but there’s still a little bit of tension because you want to try and keep the run going.”
See More:
