Andy Murray closes gap on world No1 Novak Djokovic with China Open win as Johanna Konta arrives in women’s top 10
Britain's Andy Murray boosted his hopes of unseating Novak Djokovic as world No1 by claiming his fifth title of the season at the China Open on Sunday.
Murray beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), ensuring that he won the tournament without dropping a set and that he will head to this week’s Shanghai Masters in formidable form.
Victory saw the Scot close the gap on Djokovic, who has endured a difficult second half of the year but remains the firm favourite to end 2016 in top spot.
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“It’s been the most consistent year of my career, getting to the latter stages of most of the events I have played,” said Murray.
“It has been an excellent week and I’m very happy with the way that I have played the last couple of matches. I will look forward to Shanghai now.”
Konta reaches top 10 milestone
Fellow Briton Johanna Konta, meanwhile, lost 6-4, 6-2 to former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska in the women’s final of the China Open.
Konta’s defeat came with the consolation that she will today be confirmed as the first British woman to be ranked in the top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984 – and only the fourth since the WTA list’s inception in 1975.
The Sydney-born 25-year-old has also climbed into the top eight of the Road to Singapore, meaning she is on course to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals later this month.
“I’m very pleased with this week, it was pretty spectacular,” said Konta. “I’m really enjoying my journey and looking forward to matches like this against players like Agnieszka.”