Murray conquers Federer final curse to retain Rogers Cup
Published:Andy Murray overcame a big psychological hurdle as he beat Roger Federer in a final for the first time to successfully defend the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Four frustrating rain delays could not even disrupt the Scot’s flow, as he recorded a 7-5 7-5 victory which went some way to easing the pain of defeats to Federer in recent Australian and US Open finals.
And priced at 3/1 to claim his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows later this month, the Scot will be buoyed by his breakthrough win against the Swiss master.
Murray is now one of only four players to have beaten Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same tournament, an honour which will boost the Scot’s hopes ahead of the US Open.
The straight-sets victory in Toronto also meant that Murray became the first man – since Andre Agassi 15 years ago – to retain the Rogers Cup.
Agassi went on to lose the US Open final to Pete Sampras in 1995, but Murray will be hoping to go one better than the American when he begins his tilt at the title later this month.
World number one Nadal is the 9/4 favourite to clinch the only Grand Slam title which still eludes him, while Federer is available at 11/4 to claim his sixth US Open.
With 24 Grand Slam titles between them, Nadal and Federer pose a daunting barrier between Murray and the US Open, but the world number four will not be deterred.
Murray has often spoken of the US Open as his favourite of all four Grand Slam tournaments, having won it as a junior and because he possesses a game which is well suited to the hard courts of New York.
Who do you think will be victorious at Flushing Meadows? Novak Djokovic is 12/1 to win the US Open. See the full 2010 US Open Betting Odds market.
