Andy Murray is five wins away from possibly becoming the world number one after he beat Jo-Wilfred Tsonga 6-3, 7-6(6), to claim his second Erste Bank Open Title.
Murray started brightly as he broke Tsonga in the second game to race into a 2-0 lead. The Frenchman had no answers to the Murray serve as he won 85% of his 1st service points to grab the first set 6-3.
The Scot looked comfortable and this showed as he continued his momentum from the first set to break in the first game of the second set. However the world number 15 was determined to break the Murray serve and in the eighth game he did on his 1st break point opportunity to level the second set at 4-4. There were no more breaks as the second set went to a tiebreak, which saw Murray elevate his game in the key moments to take the tiebreak 8-6 and claim his 7th title of the season. The win also means Murray could become the new number one next week in Paris.
After the match, Murray acknowledged his good run of form, “I was thinking more about how you are going to win the match rather than what it would mean if you did win it. But obviously it’s nice to win my seventh tournament. A lot of them have come in the last few months. After the Australian Open I struggled a little bit for a couple of months but the last few months have been very good.”
The scot also admitted that claiming the world number one spot was still a long way away, “I get a step closer with every win but it’s still a long way from here. From two to one seems a small jump in a way but it’s the hardest one to make. To go from 100 to 50 is more spots but is a lot easier.” The win also means Murray extends his winning streak to 14 matches.
Murray could become the world number one in Paris if he wins the event and Novak Djokovic fails to reach the final. The other scenario sees Andy Murray reach the final and Djokovic failing to reach the semifinals. Both of these scenarios are possible given Andy Murray’s recent form and Djokovic’s mental exhaustion.
