After the wobbliest of starts, Andy Murray came back to clinch his first title of 2017 by beating Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Open.
After going up 3-1 in the first set (thank, in part, to a misfiring Murray serve), Verdasco seemed to lose his confidence, making it a comfortable victory for the Brit in the end.
“I played a good match today,” said Murray. “It’s been quite a few late finishes this week and the last couple of matches I didn’t start as well as I’d like. The conditions have been a difficult with some stopping and starting.But once I got going I was moving well and I finished strong.”
The tournament win means that the Scot has now extended his World No.1 lead over Novak Djokovic to 2,215 points – a decent cushion heading into the American tournaments (Indian Wells and Miami).