Andy Murray has clinched his first ever title at the ATP World Tour Finals courtesy of a straight-sets victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic at the O2 Arena in London this evening.
For the first time ever, in addition to being the finale of the season-ending event, the match also served as a straight shootout for the world number one spot, with Djokovic bidding to sit top of the pile for the third consecutive year.
However, an uncharacteristically error-strewn performance from the Serb, coupled with a stunning display by Murray, saw the Scot claim the crown with a 6-3 6-4 victory.
Murray came into the final off the back of the longest three-set match of his career - and the longest match in World Tour Finals history - when battling past Milos Raonic yesterday, while in contrast Djokovic made short work of Kei Nishikori.
There were few signs of fatigue from the Wimbledon and Olympic champion, though, and Djokovic needed to save two break points in the sixth game of the opener to keep on level terms.
That proved to be the last game he would win for some time, though, with Murray breaking at the next time of asking as part of a set-winning three-game streak.
That run extended to five games on the bounce at the start of the second set as Murray took complete control with a break straight away before Djokovic finally stopped the rot.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner was strangely out of sorts against Murray and the home crowd, though, missing a number of simple shots as the unforced error count continued to rack up.
Murray moved to within touching distance of victory with another break that took him to 4-1, but Djokovic refused to give in and responded immediately with a break of his own before pulling it back to 4-3.
Murray held serve to prevent the five-time champion from restoring parity in the second set, and while Djokovic was able to delay the celebrations with a hold of his own before staving off two match points, Murray eventually wrapped up the historic victory.
The win is Murray's 24th in a row and brings an end to a career-best season that has also seen him win a second Wimbledon crown and successfully defend his Olympic title.
Barney Corkhill
