Miami, April 6 (IANS/EFE) Serbian top seed Novak Djokovic won his fifth Masters 1,000 title on Sunday by defeating Scotland’s Andy Murray 7-6 (3), 4-6 and 6-0 at Key Biscayne.
Despite not showing his best form on a hot day in Miami, Djokovic nonetheless demonstrated his competitive nature in the match lasting two hours and 47 minutes by overcoming all obstacles to win the Miami Open, after triumphing previously here in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
Murray, who had lost to the Serb in the semi-finals at Indian Wells two weeks ago, had much more trouble with the heat and humidity although he started out aggressively and broke Djokovic’s serve in the first set’s third game. However, his rival returned the favour immediately and then dominated the tie-break to take the set.
The pair delivered some great tennis in the second set but Murray looked like he deserved the 4-6 win when he broke Djokovic.
After losing his temper and picking up a code violation after that set, Djokovic regained his focus and broke Murray in the third set’s first game and then continued to pound the flagging Scot until he secured the 6-0 win in the third set for the title.
Djokovic has now beaten Murray in their last 10 hard-court matches and has racked up an overall 18-8 record against him.
The Serb earlier this year won at Indian Wells and at the Australian Open.