Just a few days remain for the French Open, which is scheduled to start on Sunday, and British tennis star Andy Murray will head into the second Grand Slam of the year confident, after clinching the Rome Masters on Sunday. Andy Murray showed strong signs of progress on red clay, a surface, which he does not favour much, as he defeated the world number one Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
"I've had great preparation now going into the French Open. I have played against Rafa a couple of times, Novak a couple of times. You know, not won all of the matches, but competed extremely well even in the ones I have lost," BBC quoted Murray as saying.
"[I'm] going to Roland Garros with a lot of confidence. Over best of five, as well, takes a little bit more physical and mental strength. But I feel like I'm on the right track. So hopefully I can have a good run there."
Murray has been in an good form in the last two ATP tournaments, as he finished runners-up in the Madrid Open, losing to Djokovic. But, the second seed was in no mood to let another title slip away, as he destroyed the Serbian, in what can be called as one of his best performances on the red surface.
Murray, who was also celebrating his birthday, might have received a number of gifts on Sunday, but he presented the best gift to himself, defeating Djokovic for the 10th time. It needed a special effort, and the Scot was at his menacing best against the Serbian, hitting those powerful shots down the line, converting it into winners.
Djokovic, usually, has answers to all the shots that are thrown at him, but Murray was on a league of his own in the final. The Serbian conceded that Murray deserved to win the title.
"Of course, you don't like to lose, but, you've got to congratulate the better player. Andy deserved to win. To compete with him in the long exchanges that we tend to have in our encounters required a lot of energy and a better performance from me, which didn't happen," ATP official website quoted Djokovic as saying.
"Andy was the better player. He was the player who had the best form throughout this week. I think he's using the court better now [than in previous years]. He has more variety in his shots from the baseline."
This win does not come as a huge surprise to tennis fans as Murray had played some outstanding tennis en route to the final, not dropping a single set. Djokovic was expected to be his biggest test, and he passed it with flying colours.
What makes this victory extra special is that it was the first time that Murray defeated Djokovic on clay. With Murray and Djokovic set to be the first two seeds at the French Open, another title-decider could be the cards for tennis fans at Roland Garros.
Will Murray defeat Djokovic to win back-to-back titles? Only time will tell.
