Andy Murray rolls back years to set up Novak Djokovic clash and reveals key reason for win over Denis Shapovalov

ATP Tour
Andy Murray delighted

Andy Murray produced some of his best tennis in recent years as he battled past Denis Shapovalov at the Madrid Open and his reward is a mouth-watering clash against long-time rival Novak Djokovic.

After defeating fellow Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem in the first round, Murray followed it up with another impressive display against the Canadian, winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in two hours and 10 minutes with the match finishing 12:34am in the Spanish capital.

The win also marked Murray’s first back-to-back victories since the Sydney International at the start of the year while he is projected to rise to No 74 in the ATP Rankings.

Shapovalov struggled on serve in the first set and the Brit took full advantage as he broke in games four and six before serving it out to love.

The Canadian raised his level in the second set and, after saving two break points in game five, he broke in game six and went on to take it to a decider.

After failing to convert two break points in game four, Murray broke in game six and then sealed the match with a second break in game eight.

The result will see Murray and world No 1 Djokovic play each other for the first time since 2017 in what will be their 37th match in top level tennis.

“I trained very hard the past four or five weeks and got my game in good shape,” Murray said.

“My movement has been so much better than where it was at the beginning of the year and it makes a huge difference to my whole game. It allows me to make different decisions on the court.

“My movement won me that match tonight. I defended so many points. He has so much power and I managed to defend lots of points and that won the match for me, so I was really happy with that.”

Andy Murray Denis Shapovalov Novak Djokovic

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