Andy Murray gained the Surbiton Trophy and claimed his first grass-court title since profitable Wimbledon in 2016, beating Jurij Rodionov in straight units within the ultimate on Sunday.
Murray continued his fantastic kind on the match as he beat Austrian Rodionov 6-Three 6-2 to earn him a seeded place at Wimbledon subsequent month, with the 36-year-old now eyeing a 3rd title at his house grand slam.
Having seen off Australia’s Jordan Thompson in Saturday’s semi-finals, Murray showcased a robust shot assortment which dismantled Rodionov in simply over an hour.
The pair had been subjected to Surbiton’s hovering temperatures however maintained a excessive degree of power as they jostled for the lead in a aggressive opening set on centre courtroom.
Murray’s serve was a significant weapon on the day and he picked up essential aces within the early levels to punish Rodionov, who trailed 5-Three as his opponent appeared to take a one-set lead.
Murray rounded off the primary set and confirmed indicators of his greatest by means of his intricate shot choice which precipitated his opponent to scramble throughout the turf and pay an exhaustive worth in sweltering situations.
And the previous world No 1, who was backed by a fervent Surbiton crowd, started to punish the Austrian with elegant forehands which pressured errors as he took a firmer grip on the tie.
Murray led the second set 3-1 however Rodionov’s persistence got here to the fore as Murray started to set free pissed off groans because the customer appeared for a means again into the ultimate.
However the No 2 seed continued to bombard Rodionov with a collection of high quality serves simply earlier than a heavy downpour suspended play, which supplied some much-needed respite to each gamers after temperatures reached 29 levels.
Play resumed practically three hours later and Murray shortly reasserted himself on the unseeded Rodionov, taking a fourth sport which put him inside touching distance of the trophy.
The rain did not dampen the Surbiton crowd’s spirit and pleasure started to develop as they witnessed Murray in prime gear on grass simply weeks away from Wimbledon.
Murray despatched down extra punishing serves which additional highlighted the gulf between himself and Rodionov because the Scot claimed a well-deserved victory.