NEWSPost India

Andy Murray delighted a capacity crowd of 17,500 spectators at The O2 on Sunday when he beat indoor specialist Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-4 in the first round robin singles match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The British favourite hit 27 winners and hit 10 aces for his first win over Soderling since February 2006 at the SAP Open in San Jose. Murray improved to a 6-3 record against Top 10 opponents this year after his victory in 80 minutes. “I think tactically it was a great match,” said Murray. “I think I played very smart tennis today. Obviously it was getting tough in the second set [with] a lot of long rallies. I was on the defensive quite a lot, [but I] stuck to my tactics well and managed to come through.”

The 23-year-old Scot produced a near flawless performance in the first set clinching a first serve break courtesy of two terrific passing shots in the third game. Murray struck a trademark backhand return down the line to break to 30. On the slow indoor court, Murray grew in confidence and hit two of 14 winners to break again for a 5-2 lead. He clinched the 29-minute opening set by converting his second match point with an outrageous drop shot. Soderling, who reached the semi-finals last year, came back from 0/30 at 1-1, but surrendered his serve in the sixth game of the second set when he hit his third double fault of the match. Murray went on to serve out for his 45th win of the year.

“It was tough today,” admitted Soderling. “I was hitting the ball pretty well, but in the beginning I wasn’t there. He played better than me today. “He served really well. Maybe that’s the only thing I was a little bit surprised with. He was putting a lot of first serves in. He was defending really well. Every time I came to the net, he came up with a really good shot.” On Monday, Soderling moved to a career-high No. 4 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings ahead of Murray after lifting the BNP Paribas Masters title on a fast indoor court in Paris.

Talking about the season finale in London, Murray said: “It’s a huge tournament. I think all of the players want to play their best tennis here. It’s a big win, to beat someone that’s ranked higher than me. He’s a very, very good player.

“I think when you beat someone as good as him in a tournament like this with that score line, it’s normal to be pretty excited about it.”