Isner performed very well there – was it his best performance against Murray? – but still fell short against the world’s best player. Murray was positive throughout and kept his head even when the American’s serves were flying at him. The world No1 moves on to next week’s ATP World Tour Finals in London where he will aim to finish off his remarkable season in style and be crowned the end of year best player. Thanks for reading. Until next time …
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Andy Murray wins the Paris Masters
Murray 6-4 Isner* (6-3, 6-7): Sorry, Isner fans. I’ve jinxed it. The American hits his first double fault for 0-30 but battles back to 30-30 – the levelling point came from another ace – before allowing Murray one match point. Isner’s first serve is out (he challenges but the call stands) and Murray seals the title by forcing Isner to volley into the net. That’s his eighth title of the year and 19th win in a row. The world No1’s amazing year keeps getting better.
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Murray* 5-4 Isner (6-3, 6-7): Murray holds once more. This is becoming a bit of a grind. Neither look penetrable.
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Murray 4-4 Isner* (6-3, 6-7): Isner holds again with one minor difference – Murray wins a point.
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Murray* 4-3 Isner (6-3, 6-7): For all of Isner’s good work on serve, he is no longer worrying Murray against it. The Scot wins another game to love. We’re going to be here for a long time, folks.
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Murray 3-3 Isner* (6-3, 6-7): Murray does well to return a couple of big serves but Isner still holds.
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Murray* 3-2 Isner (6-3, 6-7): Murray holds again, without too much trouble. It seems a good time to remind ourselves that Isner likes to slug deciding sets out.
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Murray 2-2 Isner* (6-3, 6-7): Isner is wincing a little, so maybe that pain is a tad more significant than initially imagined. He gives Murray a break point but then regroups to strike with a pair of aces and then holds. Very good from the American.
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Murray* 1-2 Isner (6-3, 6-7): Murray holds to love and as they go for a drinks break, the American calls for the trainer and, weirdly, a banana. He gets a massage to his upper right shin but should be fine.
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Murray 1-1 Isner* (6-3, 6-7): This is too tight to call. Isner looks good early in this game but Murray claws him back and has a break point after an inexplicably poor volley from the American. This is Murray’s first break point since the sixth game of the first set and he cannot take it. Isner comes to the net to send his returned serve to Murray’s left and pushes on from deuce to hold.
An email from Thomas Harrington – although he has the Grand Tour Final to come on Monday week!
Andy looks very tired, and so he should be with all the tennis he has played this year, it’s definitely catching up with him, much as Isner is playing well, Andy is mentally and physically struggling. I don’t think we will see the best of Andy again until the Australian Open end of January, when he will have had the benefit (at last) of a good rest, no one deserves it more!! Hopefully still win this final though!
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Murray* 1-0 Isner (6-3, 6-7): Isner changes his top before the third and deciding set begins – he’s now wearing a red shirt – and battles well at the beginning. Murray, however, settles and fight back to hold.
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Isner wins the second set 7-6 (7-4)
Tiebreak – Murray 4-7 Isner: Murray challenges but Isner has drawn level thanks to a storming forehand that comes off the right sideline. We are going to a third.
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Tiebreak – Murray 4-6 Isner: A 224km/h ace gives Isner three set points but Murray saves the first by coming to the net.
Tiebreak – Murray 3-5 Isner: Murray hits a sweet serve that Isner sends to the net but the big man applies the same trick.
Tiebreak – Murray 2-4 Isner: Isner hits his 100th ace of the tournament for 3-2 and consolidates an advantage on the next point.
Tiebreak – Murray 2-2 Isner: Murray then lands his first serve to make it 2-1 before he mishits a return backhand.
Tiebreak – Murray 1-1 Isner: Isner wins the first point on his serve but Murray draws level by forcing Isner into a mishit.
Murray* 6-6 Isner (6-3): A tie break it is. Isner did hit a smashing forehand to make it 30-15 but Murray plants a couple of big serves to draw level in the set again.
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Murray 5-6* Isner (6-3): In response Isner needs little more than a minute to hold to love. Murray will serve to stay in the set.
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Murray* 5-5 Isner (6-3): Normal, eh, service has resumed. Murray holds to love once again, with Isner forcing a rally on the opening point but failing to do much else after.
Murray 4-5 Isner* (6-3): Isner has not dropped his head after that previous game and knuckles down to hold his serve. This, you sense, is headed for a tiebreak.
Murray* 4-4 Isner (6-3): There have not been too many long rallies (five points with nine or more shots to be precise) but the first point here is great – Isner getting Murray on the run before finishing it off with a drop shot. Then Murray makes a rare unforced error, finding the net with a forehand for 0-30 before an Isner winner earns him three break points. He should really take the first but overhits a backhand after Murray came to the net. The second is also saved with an overhead shot after coming to the net again. Murray then forces an error for deuce. Isner claims another break but Murray clambers back to deuce again. Isner shows signs of fatigue and, having had several chances to break, he ends up letting the game sleep.
Murray 3-4 Isner* (6-3): At 30-15 a Murray return is called out (he challenges but the call stands) but apart from that the player on serve dominates again.
Murray* 3-3 Isner (6-3): With Murray serving this well, Isner is unable to get a look. This latest game is to love and the points are not particularly testing.
Murray 2-3 Isner* (6-3): Isner begins with a serve of 213km/h (!) and then follows up with some good play at the net – that will help after his earlier problems there. Yet Murray responds with a remarkable cross-court forehand to make it 30-15, before the American responds himself. He has been good on serve apart from that first set break but he needs to now do something against it.
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Murray* 2-2 Isner (6-3): Murray, who has hardly broken a sweat, holds again without much in the way of return fire.
Murray 1-2 Isner* (6-3): Isner misses another shocker when coming to the net at 30-0, volleying into the net, but he still polishes off another service game with a powerful serve that has plenty of topspin.
Murray* 1-1 Isner (6-3): Splendid serving from Murray, who holds to love. He looks comfortable here, especially on his own serve.
Murray 0-1 Isner* (6-3): Isner wins the first two points but then slows down and allows Murray back in to the opening game of this second set. No matter, the big server displays his power to close it out.
An email from Simon McMahon on Murray becoming No1:
Afternoon Alan. I ran out of superlatives for Andy Murray years ago. The No. 1 ranking is just the cherry on top of a very big, well decorated cake, and just reward for the years of dedication and hard work that he has put into his game. He’s already a truly great champion, and were he never to win another match he would remain one of Scotland, Britain and the world’s best ever sportsmen. If, however, as seems entirely possible, he was to, say, double his Grand Slam tally over the next three years, adding the Australian and French titles, maybe another Wimbledon or US Open, he would join the true legends of the game. Let’s go Andy!
Murray wins the first set 6-3
Murray is temporarily frustrated when Isner battles to 30-30. But he then aces and Isner challenges, thinking it’s wide. The challenge is unsuccessful and Murray needs just the one set point because Isner is unable to return a serve towards the American’s backhand.
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Murray 5-3 Isner*: Murray will have to serve for the set though after Isner holds to love, finishing up with a magnificent ace.
Murray* 5-2 Isner: Murray confirms the break by holding but it is far from easy because Isner earns two break points with a sublime forehand return that is too powerful for Murray’s backhand. Murray comes to the net to save the first and Isner wastes the second by finding the net. Murray gets to advantage but is clawed back by a tasty winner from Isner. Back on deuce, the Briton digs in and closes in on the opening set.
Murray 4-2 Isner*: Isner cracks! But it’s an excellent game from Murray, who battles back from 30-15 to break thanks to a couple of excellent returns on serve and a bit of exceptional net play that leaves the US No1 flummoxed. Isner missed another volley at 30-15 and that gave Murray the initiative to step up a level and earn an advantage in this opening set.
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Murray* 3-2 Isner: Isner should have a first break point but he finds the net with Murray on the run at 30-30. On deuce, Murray gets to advantage with a driven forehand that Isner is unable to return. The Scot then holds. Who will be the first to crack?
Murray 2-2 Isner*: Isner will not be rolled over as easily as in Vienna last week. He, too, comes to the net and produces a lovely drop shot that evades Murray for 30-0 and, although Murray pulls a point back,the big man holds without any bother.
Murray* 2-1 Isner: Murray comes to the net for the first time at 30-0 and then closes the game out to love by forcing an error out of his opponent. That’s eight points in a row on serve for the Scot. Now, how can he respond against Isner’s serve?
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Murray 1-1 Isner*: The American’s first service game is pretty standard – piling down a couple of aces.
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Murray* 1-0 Isner: A slightly odd start as world No1 begins with a double fault, but he then follows up with an ace and holds without much bother.
Murray will serve first.
Remember when US players were the standard bearers? This will be Isner’s fifth year as his country’s best player – but, big serve aside, he is not the most testing. He is too tall to be move as freely as the best. Anyway, the players are out on court and are warming up. We’re not too far away.
The story behind Murray’s rise to the top
Let’s all bow at the feet of Andy Murray, the new world No1. What a year 2016 has been for the Scot and he will look to add another title here before next week’s season closer, the Grand Tour Finals at London’s O2. Enough has been written over the past 24 hours about Murray and where he ranks in the pantheon (see link below), so let’s focus on today’s game for now.
Murray has a 100% record against John Isner and leads 18-3 on sets. The American, who will finish as his country’s best player again, has been playing well but is still unlikely to cause Murray too many problems on current form. In Vienna less than a fortnight ago Murray won 6-1 6-3 en route to the title and he also advanced in straight sets at the French Open earlier in the year. This would be Isner’s first Masters 1000 title, Murray has already won 13. However this particular gong has evaded him, losing to Novak Djokovic, the now former No1, in last year’s showpiece.
Play is set to begin a little after 3pm local time, or 2pm GMT.
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