Andy Murray continued his remarkable run on clay when he pulled off a stunning upset to dethrone home favourite Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-2 in the Madrid Masters final on Sunday and claim his second title on the surface in a week.
Following up his debut triumph on the red dust on Monday in Munich, Murray denied Nadal a third straight triumph in the Spanish capital – and record fifth overall – and raised fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s form heading into the French Open.
The Briton’s strong performances this week suggest he may be a real contender in Paris, when holder Nadal, who has struggled for consistency since returning from injury and illness, will be bidding for a record-extending 10th Roland Garros crown.
However, after receiving the trophy from Spain’s Queen Sofia, Murray said it wasn’t as easy to beat Nadal at home as it may seem to be.
To play Rafa in Spain is extremely tough and this is the reason why we play tennis for these matches. It’s one of the toughest things in tennis to try to beat Rafa on clay. I’ll keep trying to play well over the next few weeks with Roland Garros just around the corner.
– Andy Murray
Murray had never beaten third-seeded Nadal on clay in six attempts but raced into a 3-0 lead at the futuristic magic box arena and fended off three break points to close out the set.
The world number three broke Nadal twice more to open a 4-0 lead in the second and finished him off on his first match point when the Mallorcan sent a weak forehand return into the net.
It was Murray’s 10th Masters crown and 33rd career title, while Nadal missed out on a record-extending 28th Masters and 66th title overall.
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