Murray back to No. 2 with Key Biscayne title
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, April 2, 2013
Andy Murray's razor-thin victory over David Ferrer for the Sony Open crown pushed the Scot to No. 2 in the world rankings for the second time in his career, but he was too tired to celebrate on Sunday.
Murray rallied after a slow start in the opening set and survived a Hawk-Eye replay call at match-point down in the final set to subdue Spain's Ferrer 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in a punishing match in the heat and humidity of Key Biscayne.
Ferrer was stricken by cramps in the final-set tiebreaker, while Murray opted not to receive treatment on a tweaked ankle just to avoid prolonging the endurance test. "We were both in the locker room afterwards," Murray said. "I wasn't up celebrating with my team. We were just kind of sitting there, because we're just incredibly, incredibly tired after a match like that."
The 25-year-old Scot captured his first title in the ATP's elite Masters series since he beat Ferrer in Shanghai in 2011.
Since then, he has gone on to claim the Olympic singles gold in front of adoring British fans in London last year and capture the US Open crown.
Sunday's victory takes him back to No. 2 in the world rankings for the first time since 2009, when Swiss great Roger Federer was the top player.
His rise to the second spot behind No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia will edge Federer down, while Ferrer will move back to No. 4 in the world at the expense of compatriot Rafael Nadal.
It will mark the first time since November 10, 2003, that neither Federer nor Nadal has been in the top two.
Third seed Ferrer, who was seeking the biggest title of his career, fell to 0-13 against top-five players in finals.
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