Murray downs Dimitrov to win China Open

Andy Murray of Britain hits a return against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the men’s singles final at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October  九. — AFP/VNA Photo

Tennis

BEIJING – Andy Murray beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to win the China Open on Sunday as he closes in on Novak Djokovic’s number one ranking.

The world No  二 did not drop a set as he romped through the tournament to claim his fifth title of the year and  四0th of his career with a  六- 四,  七- 六 ( 七/ 二) win.

The victory moves Murray  一,000 points closer to long-reigning world No  一 Djokovic, with the chance of taking the top spot by year-end.

Murray broke Dimitrov’s serve in the opening game of the match, putting the  一 五th-ranked Bulgarian on the defensive and pushing him to make  二 一 unforced errors in the opening set.

In the second set, both held their serve through the first four games until Murray broke Dimitrov at  三- 二.

It looked like the Scot would serve for the championship but the unseeded Bulgarian won the next  一 一 points, breaking Murray to love.

Pushed to a tiebreak, the Scot i妹妹ediately seized back control, taking the first point of the decider on Dimitrov’s serve.

Murray stormed through the tiebreak, dropping just two points to claim his first title in the Chinese capital. AFP