MURRAY THE MASTER

Murray, who won in two hours and 23 minutes, will now move up to a career-high of sixth in the world rankings.

He said: “It’s huge because to win these tournaments is tough nowadays.

“I’ve played five days in these conditions and had eight or nine matches in the last couple of weeks. But I’ve put in the physical work and it’s paid off.”

Dominated

Murray reached the semi-finals in Toronto last week - beating fellow 21-year-old Djokovic along the way - and has further underlined his upsurge in form with his performances in Cincinnati.

There were some jitters towards the end as he needed six match points to take victory but his title was richly deserved.

Murray dominated the Australian Open champion and world No 3 from the start and twice went close to breaking early on while comfortably holding his own serve.

Djokovic held him off until a tie-break but Murray came through that with ease to take the opening set.

Murray was broken early in the second set but immediately broke back and then repeated the dose in game eight to edge ahead.

That put Murray in sight of the title but four match points were squandered as Djokovic rallied an produced his best tennis.

Djokovic broke to take the set to a tie-break but, after a number of long rallies, Murray eventually prevailed on his sixth match point.

He said: “I got very nervous and he was hitting the ball really big but I hung in well.

“It was tough for both of us and there were a lot of long rallies. Your legs really burn out there and they were some of the hardest conditions of the year.

“But I stayed calm throughout and didn’t waste any energy - especially when I went behind in a couple of matches.

“In the past maybe I’d have let that get to me but now I’m playing top players on a regular basis and I’m better equipped.”