The first face-off of the year between the top two men in the world ended in typical fashion – three sets of grueling and entertaining tennis.
Novak Djokovic outlasted Andy Murray, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The win snaps the newly minted world No. 1 Murray’s recent winning streak dating back to last year. He beat Djokovic at the year-end ATP Tour Finals in London.
Murray stumbled at the start of the first set and dropped it, 3-6. The second set was full of long rallies where each player struggled to outmaneuver each other. Murray fought off three set points in the process of winning the set, 7-5 as Djokovic released his frustrations – mostly on his racquets.
The fitness of the pair was on full display throughout, with each man chasing down impossibly angled shot, especially mid-match.
After breaking Murray at love to go up 4-3, Djokovic appeared to stare his opponent down. It seemed to mark the turning of the tide. But even match point couldn’t be straightforward, and the match finally ended after another see-saw point that ended with a Djokovic winner that Murray finally could not chase down.
After the match, Djokovic admitted he was relieved to pull out the win and acknowledged he was a bit concerned after squandering the match points in the second set.
“All the way to the last shot, you never know with him,” Djokovic said. “It’s nothing new for us, three sets in three hours.”
Djokovic said that with the way the 2016 season ended, he didn’t feel very confident, but feels good about starting the season with a tournament win.
“It’s a dream start. I hope I can get the best out of it,” he said.
“Definitely one of the best ways to start the year!” – @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/6iBPTvnbG1
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) 7 January 2017
