TENNIS Live

Madrid Masters - Final - Men

Nationality Player Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
United KingdomA Murray67---
FranceG Simon46---

Gilles Simon

Nationality FRA
Date of Birth 27/12/1984
Height 1.8 m
Weight 65 kg

Andy Murray

Nationality GBR
Date of Birth 15/05/1987
Height 1.9 m
Weight 79 kg
 

Live Comments

  1. 16:51 - So there you have it folks, that wraps up the Madrid Masters for another year. This result won't change Murray's world ranking when it comes to Monday, Novak Djokovic is still too far ahead, but it it the Scot's fourth title so far this year and if he keeps this up he has a very good chance of taking another couple before it is up.

  2. 6-7 - MURRAY WINS HIS SECOND CONSECUTIVE MASTERS SERIES TOURNAMENT! Murray wraps up the win 8-6 in the breaker drawing Simon into the net before producing a dipping backhand across court at full stretch and watching when Simon can only put the resulting backhand volley just wide of the tram-lines. So that is back-to-back Masters titles for Murray who follows up his Cincinnati win with the title in Madrid

  3. 6-7 - A huge yell of "come on" from Murray as he sets up his first MATCH POINT

  4. 6-6 - Murray levels up at the second change of ends battering Simon into submission and forcing the Frenchman to hit into the net

  5. 6-5 - Simon earns himself two SET POINTS ... but squanders the first, on Murray's serve, pushing his angled forehand across court just wide. One more remains though and this one is on his serve

  6. 3-3 - Simon is wise to the Murray drop-shot tactic and whips a backhand reply across the court at an angle to ensure the scores are level at 3-3 at the change of ends

  7. 6-6 - It's tiebreak time, folks. Murray holds again, to love, to force the second set breaker

  8. 6-5 - Once again Murray is so close to that breakthrough at 15-30 up but Simon holds on and just one game from levelling the match for a second time when Murray pulls his cross court forehand just wide

  9. 5-5 - Murray's serve continues to hold firm. The world number four was having this problem yesterday at well as he battered Federer on serve but was struggling to get that break point

  10. 5-4 - Murray again steps up his attempts to secure the potential match winning break but Simon is once again equal to the task and the Scot is beginning to get frustrated as he slaps long

  11. 4-4 - Murray gets himself into a spot of potential bother at 30-30 on his serve but shows his composure to come up with a couple of great points when it's really needed forcing Simon into a couple of forehand errors

  12. 4-3 - Simon holds on again and continues to press Murray in this second set. Could we be heading for a third?

  13. 3-3 - Murray's serve today has been brilliant, fact fans. He has been serving at 67%, including with seven aces, and has been winning 86% of those first serve point. Plus he's yet to face a break point

  14. 3-2 - Simon holds once again although Murray does begin to make a move. But the Scot hits a forehand across court narrowly wide and Simon has the game

  15. 2-2 - Murray's serve has improved exponentially in recent months and he races through another very speedy hold to put all the pressure back on to Simon once again

  16. 2-1 - Simon though recovers from that service return bullet from Murray to grab the next point and hold to keep his nose in front in this set

  17. 40-30 - Murray's return of serve has got to be one of the best in the game as the Brit takes a step inside the baseline and fires a forehand service return back down the line from out wide with twice as much on it as it originally had. Simon had no chance of getting anywhere near it

  18. 1-1 - Murray slices a backhand into the net on his first game point but holds at the second forcing Simon to come up with a backhand down the line passing shot. The Frenchman though is about a metre behind the baseline as well as beginning on the run and hasn't got the control or the strength to make the shot and dumps it into the net instead. 1-1

  19. 1-0 - Simon does brilliantly well to hold for the opening game of the second set despite Murray holding a break point. But the Frenchman comes up with a great serve in the end and holds on to at least keep this match competitive. You get the feeling that Murray could have run away with this match if he had broken there.

  20. 4-6 - THERE IS THE FIRST SET FOR MURRAY! The world number four finishes the set in real style, and at the first attempt, with an ace down the T

  21. 4-5 - A stunning, dipping angled forehand from Murray denies Simon the service hold at his first attempt but the Frenchman comes up with a big serve at 40-15 that Murray can only return long and the Scot will have to serve the opportunity to serve for the set after the change of ends

  22. 3-5 - Murray now is just one game away from this opening set as he produces another solid service hold. He is undoubtedly not playing as well as he did yesterday to beat world number two Roger Federer but he hasn't need to as yet

  23. 3-4 - Simon does well to recover and get his serve back on track despite going 15-30 down with another shocking error ... but he manages to get himself a game point and quickly takes advantage of it when Murray slaps a forehand long

  24. 2-4 - A very quick hold from Murray cements the break and slings all the pressure back onto the Frenchman, who really needs to cover his composure quickly if he is too make this a match

  25. 2-3 - MURRAY BREAKS! After going up 0-40 Murray wastes the first opportunity with a tame forehand into the net on what should be a bread-and-butter shot while Simon comes up with a bullet of a backhand across court to save the second. But the Brit breaks at the third attempt hoisting up a troublesome lob to force Simon onto the back-foot, a position he fails recovers from in the rally, slapping a forehand wide just a couple of shots later

  26. 2-2 - The baseline rallies are beginning to get longer now as Simon and Murray send each other running all around the court - but Murray is proving slightly more accurate and holds again

  27. 2-1 - Both players still a little tentative as they probe the other for weaknesses. Simon's last victory came at the beginning of September, in Bucharest, while Murray's came at the Cincinnati Masters back in August. But, as we all know, the Scot also reached the final of the US Open before falling to Roger Federer!

  28. 1-1 - Murray also gets his match off to a comfortable start, with an opening hold to love concluding when the Frenchman slaps a forehand deep of the baseline

  29. 1-0 - A comfortable opening hold from the world number 16 to get the match underway

  30. 0-0 - Simon to get the match underway ...

  31. 14:57 - These two have met each other twice before splitting the matches between them. In fact both their meetings have come in Masters Series tournaments with Simon winning in Rome last year, in the three sets, and Murray winning in Hamburg earlier this year, in straight sets. They have also both won three tournament so far this year

  32. 14:55 - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of this Madrid Masters final between world number four Andy Murray and unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon