Madrid Open 2016: Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray Score, Reaction

Novak Djokovic beat last year’s champion, Andy Murray, in the final of the 2016 Madrid Open on Sunday, bouncing back from his disappointing showing at the Monte Carlo Open to win his first title of the clay season. The final set scores were 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Djokovic dominated the first set and appeared to be cruising to an easy win, but Murray turned things around in the second, forcing a decider with some great net play.

The final set turned into a thriller, with both players missing a handful of chances, but Djokovic eventually pulled through after a final game that took well over 10 minutes to complete.

As BBC Sport’s Russell Fuller shared, the stats were in Djokovic’s favour entering the contest:

Andy Murray v the man who’s won 31 of his last 32 sets vs T10 players in Masters events@5liveSport In 15 minutes pic.twitter.com/u0mSSwKMis

— Russell Fuller (@russellcfuller) May 8, 2016

That advantage was clear as day from the opening game. Djokovic’s return game was spot on, as the Serb fired everything Murray threw at him straight back into his feet or close to the line, and in no time whatsoever, the Djoker broke serve, per the Washington Post’s Kelyn Soong:

Aaand Djokovic opens with a break. #MadridOpen

— Kelyn Soong (@KelynSoong) May 8, 2016

Clay may not be his favourite surface, but the world No. 1 didn’t seem at all out of his element during the first set.

With crisp groundstrokes and a bunch of winners, he easily dominated Murray from the baseline, and when his opponent tried to force the action by advancing to the net, he ran into extraordinary passing shots almost every time.

Djokovic’s efforts in the return game stood out the most, per Live Tennis:

What can you do when #Djokovic is hitting returns like this? (Rhetorical …

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