Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic for only the second time in 14 matches since the 2013 Wimbledon final to win his first Rome Masters title – a fractious, fascinating affair – on Sunday and will now head to Paris with hopes high for the French Open.
In a compelling second set, Djokovic begged the chair umpire, Damian Steiner of Argentina, to suspend play “for five minutes” to clean up a surface on which he had three times nearly tumbled heavily and which had been unreliable all week. Mr Steiner stood firm. Murray said nothing and, under darkening skies beyond the court lights, completed a deserved and impressive 6-3, 6-3 win. No British player had previously won here in the open era.
In a rainy, cloud-covered mist that would not have looked out of place in the Scottish Highlands, Murray and Djokovic played a match that lasted an hour and 35 minutes. It must have seemed twice as long for the loser, who was carrying not only fatigue from a three-hour semi-final against Kei Nishikori the night before, but a bruise on his left foot, self-inflicted near the end of that match as he tried to loosen dirt from his shoe.
Djokovic calmed his temper and gathered his composure to say courtside yesterday, partly in Italian: “Well done, Andy. You did a great job today. You were too good, just too good.” .
Murray threw his opponent a bone when he acknowledged Djokovic was backing up from a tough semi-final.
“It’s hard coming back from a long match the night before,” he said. “And he fought hard all the way to the end.”
Murray could not have had a better start, holding to love as he moved Djokovic from side to side. He had watched the Nishikori match and knew Djokovic was vulnerable.
A weird thing happened in mid-point at 0-15 in the second game; the lights came on. Only in Rome would this happen. With their shadows underfoot, the players were officially in a night game – at 5.20pm.
The natural light was indeed fading and the breeze rustling through the ancient trees surrounding this magnificent stadium whispered of advancing rain. It never properly arrived.
Murray was on fire in the damp gloom, almost despite himself. He blew two nailed-on break points in the second game, and not enough of his first serves were landing, but he was hitting with nerveless precision off the ground. It took Djokovic fully 20 minutes to take a point off his serve.
The Scot’s double-handed backhand to set up game point for 5-2 left Djokovic flat-footed. The rain got heavier as a Murray drop shot took the first set.
Murray broke for 3-2 in the second and a quick victory beckoned. His challenge was to hold his nerve against a struggling foe. He has been suspicious before when witnessing Djokovic in shot-squirrel mode – notably in the Australian Open final two years ago – and now had to guard against falling for any such perceived deception again. What a mind-mangling game tennis can be.
Murray was two games away from victory when Djokovic exploded on the changeover.
“I don’t want to play any more!” he shouted at Steiner. “I asked not to play! Wait! There are no consequences on the court, right? The lines are not slippery? Somebody has to get hurt before you do something. I hurt my ankle three times in the last three games and you’re ignoring that fact completely!”
Steiner, immovable, replied: “I think the court is playable.”
Djokovic had a point. But he picked a strange moment to press it: a set and a break down in a final against a player he had beaten 23 times in 32 matches. Besides, they had played on this court all week.
Murray held, nervously, for 5-3. Djokovic continued to fume. Could he tap into his inner beast as he has done many times before, to stay in the fight? He wrongfooted Murray with a delightful backhand chip, but double-faulted for 15-40.
The final point was one of the best of the week. Off Djkovic’s second serve, Murray hit mid-court, Djokovic pushed him wide; after set-up exchanges, the Scot thrashed the winning point on the run deep into an untended court.
It was Murray’s 29th birthday on Sunday.It is Djokovic’s 29th birthday next Sunday. You could sort of tell it might end like this.
Earlier, world number one Serena Williams beat her 21-year-old American compatriot Madison Keys 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to win her fourth Rome title.
She will head next to Roland Garros, intent on defending her title and equalling Steffi Graf’s open-era record of 22 grand slam titles.
– Guardian Service
