In a moment delicately freighted with irony, the presenter of Sky Sports’ tennis coverage wondered anxiously aloud before the start of the Shanghai final this morning whether the pundits were overhyping Murray’s Asian achievements given the quality of his opposition—as if exaggeration and sensationalism are unheard of when it comes to the Scot. Mark Petchey, Murray’s former coach, skirted the question and said instead that winning—matches, tournaments, trophies—can become a habit and a good one to get into.
If there was one lesson to take away from today’s largely unspectacular final, it was the significance of that winning habit. Murray was not his best in his 7-5, 6-4 defeat of David Ferrer for the Shanghai title, but any outcome other than Murray’s third title in three weeks—allowing him to overtake Roger Federer in the rankings and displace the Swiss from the Top 3, where he has been since 2003—looked unlikely from the start, when he broke Ferrer in the Spaniard's first service game.
If Masters titles were awarded on the basis of hard work and dogged defiance, David Ferrer would have at least one by now, and he immediately broke Murray back, looking the better player for much of the first set and showing far more willingness to take the initiative and step up into the court. Despite landing a much lower percentage of first serves, Ferrer defended his second serve brilliantly, and with Murray’s backhand misfiring and his second serve—always a liability—the Spaniard was looking promising.
Still, the outcome never seemed in doubt, and after Murray held serve to 15 for 5-5, the defending champion unexpectedly turned up the heat in the next game, earning a break point with his first truly aggressive returns of the set. Ferrer double-faulted in emphatic style, and Murray sealed the set with an ace. Breaks were exchanged again at the beginning of the second set, but with Ferrer serving at 1-1, a flubbed smash from right on top of the net and a neat forehand lob on the run put Murray ahead again, and he rode that advantage to his eighth Masters series title.
If his opposition hasn’t always been top drawer, Murray’s tennis throughout the Asian swing this year has broken new ground for him in terms of blending patience and aggression, and his match today—he doubled Ferrer’s winners and had one fewer unforced error—was no exception. The hype, unfortunately, is as unstoppable as Murray has been for the past three weeks, but there’s nothing exaggerated about his recent achievements.
—Hannah Wilks