Murray Feeling Positive Despite Doha Final Loss

Andy Murray’s remarkable 28-match win streak ended on Saturday when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final. But the Scot said he’s still feeling positive about his start to the 2017 ATP World Tour season.

“Obviously disappointed not to win tonight, but I played pretty good the last couple of the matches. I think physically it was a good test to start the year, and I did good there,” Murray said. “My body feels all right just now, so that’s positive.”

Murray hadn’t dropped a set until facing Djokovic in the final. The Scot had rolled through Jeremy Chardy, Gerald Melzer, Nicolas Almagro and third seed Tomas Berdych to extend his match-win streak to 28.

The impressive win streak dated back to September, when Murray lost to Juan Martin del Potro during Davis Cup play. The four-month unbeaten run, the best stretch of Murray’s career, featured five ATP World Tour titles and a victory against World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the title match of the ATP Finals. That win made Murray the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time in his career.

The Scot was going for his third Doha title on Saturday, having also won the tournament in 2008 and 2009. Instead, he leaves Qatar with a finalist trophy and areas to focus on as the 2017 season gets underway.

“There are things I can do better. I wasn’t that clinical on break points this week, which maybe that comes with playing a few more matches,” he said.

Murray converted only 37 per cent of his break points (14/38) for the week, including two of seven against Djokovic in the final. To compare, the Serbian won 61 per cent of his break points, including three of four against Murray.

“That was the difference this evening,” Murray said of break points. “That’s something I could definitely do a little bit better.”

There were plenty of other positives to take from his opening week of the season, though. Murray has now made the final in 13 of his past 14 tournaments, dating back to the Mutua Madrid Open in May. He also still owns a 780-point lead over Djokovic in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

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