TENNIS
Good day for the members of the “big four”
Novak Djokovic was not the only player to win a trophy on Sunday. His fellow player, Andy Murray, also won the Surbiton Challenger in London.
Although the official clay court season was not over, with Roland Garros still in its second week of play, this week also saw the beginning of the grass season at the Surbiton Trophy.
The Surbiton Trophy is a preparation tournament for the three-week British grasscourt season every year, starting in Nottingham, continuing with Birmingham and the Queen’s Club tournaments, and finishing at the All-England Lawn Club courts.
Situated near London, the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, which has been around for 142 years, serves as the Challenger 125 tennis tournament venue. The club has been known by this name since 1999, but its original name was the Berrylands Lawn Tennis Club when it was founded in 1881.
In the enthralling final match, the tennis audience at Surbiton witnessed resurrected Andy Murray defeat Austria’s Yuri Rodionov with an impressive score of 6:3 and 6:2. Murray’s exceptional performance earned him also the title of the oldest player to win a grass court tournament in this series.
Murray’s superb serving and proficient returns gave Rodionov little chance to gain an advantage in the intense match. This is a special victory for Murray because it is his first grass singles trophy in seven years since he won the Wimbledon title in 2016. With this achievement, the British tennis star climbs to 44th in the ATP global rankings.
Murray chose to skip this year’s Roland Garros, where he last competed in 2020 and was eliminated early on. His best career performance was reaching the semifinals of the renowned tournament in 2017. Murray’s strategic decision to focus on grasscourt success proved wise and maybe ultimately led to his win.