Murray Claims Second Miami Title; Back to No. 2 in World

Andy Murray, saved by a crucial Hawk-eye review down match point, surged ahead of David Ferrer to claim the Sony Open Tennis title and book his spot at No. 2 in the world next week.

By Erik Gudris

(March 31st, 2013) -- In what turned into a battle of attrition for almost three hours, Andy Murray surged ahead in a final set tiebreak to claim his second title in Miami over Spain's David Ferrer seeking to become the first man from his country to win the Sony Open tennis event.

The early 11:30 a.m. start to the final in order to meet a U.S. television broadcast window seemed to affect Murray the most as he got off to a sluggish start. Murray dropped his opening service game while Ferrer kept the pressure on early by hitting with extra depth on his groundstrokes.

At one juncture Murray was playing so poorly that he had only made three returns against Ferrer's first serve. Soon, it was 5-0 in favor of Ferrer who looked poised to serve out the set to love.

But though Murray fought back to win two games, a poor double fault from the Scot down 0-40 in his next service game allowed Ferrer to claim the set 6-2.

Murray fought back in the second set and secured an early break of serve. Swinging more freely, Murray went up 4-2 but found himself engaged in all-court cat and mouse rallies with Ferrer.

Murray found a way to hold on to his break advantage and closed out the set thanks to a Ferrer error.

The final set once again saw both men trade breaks of serve with neither seeming able to seize control of the match. The grueling, slow nature of each rally compounded by the hot, muggy conditions wore on each man as they approached the pivotal moment of decision. But it was Ferrer, who got back on serve for 5-6, who would earn the first match point in the next game.

During an extended rally while up match point, Ferrer stopped play when he thought that a shot from Murray hit near the baseline was long. With the title in the balance and both men kneeling on court hoping that the instant replay would go their way, the video showed Murray's shot did touch the line bringing heartbreak to Ferrer while Murray was free to fight on.

Murray soon forced a final set tiebreak and this time he didn't leave anything to chance as he surged ahead to a 4-0 lead in the breaker. Murray never let Ferrer have even a taste of a comeback as Murray soon found himself with his own match point. Murray, with a ripped backhand return that Ferrer couldn't handle, claimed the 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) victory that not only gave him his second Miami title but will send him to No. 2 in the world on Monday.

During the trophy ceremony, both men looked visibly physically and mentally spent with their efforts.

Ferrer speaking to the crowd said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. One point," referring to the missed challenge he made on match point. Later in his press conference, Ferrer when asked if he should have hit the ball on his match point said, "No, I don't want to think nothing. I chose my decision in that moment. It's a bad moment now. I don't want to think anymore about that. I want to forget, the more faster as possible."

Ferrer, despite the loss, chose to look on the positives. "I'm going to be positive. I did final. I know it was a very good chance for to win Miami. It's very difficult to win. It will be another situation like today, but, you know, my life, it didn't change for one match. I need to work hard and to be focused for the next tournaments.

Murray also spoke about the physical battle that could have gone either way. "I mean, it's taking a little while to sink in, because it's tough to think really at the end of the match. It was so tough physically and mentally that you were just trying to play each point. I wasn't thinking too much only because I was so tired and not too many nerves at the end of the match, either. So, yeah, I'm sure, you know, tomorrow and whatever, you know, I will realize that today, you know, I think it was an exciting match. I don't think either of us played our best tennis. There was a lot of breaks and ups‑and‑downs, quite a lot of mistakes from both of us. But what I did do was fight hard, you know, showed good mental strength to get through that match, because it easily could have slipped away from me."

Despite being happy about returning to No. 2 in the world, Murray didn't want to dwell on the feat too much. "I mean, for me it doesn't change a huge amount, but the fact that I'm moving up the rankings is a good sign. You know, I have been winning a lot of matches. My consistency has been better over the last few months. The rankings obviously reflect that."

(Photo Credit: AP)