Djokovic Captures the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open Title
April 2, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has won his third Sony Ericsson Open title after he defeated Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6. Only Andre Agassi, a six-time Sony Ericsson Open champion, has won more. The top-ranked Djokovic lost only one service point in the second set tie-breaker, where he went ahead and double-faulted to make it just 3-2. Djokovic also took home the Sony Ericsson Open title in 2011 and 2007.
“I managed to play my best tennis when I needed to,” Djokovic said. He’s enjoying his success. Warming up before a match earlier in the week, he joked with fans and used his racket handle to whack balls to them. “I’m playing at the peak of my form … the best tennis that I have played."
Djokovic stated he was ready for the physical final match after he had a day off, whereas Murray was fresh but also lacking match play as it took just three matches to reach the final around. He advanced twice with walkovers and played for the first time since his last match on Wednesday.
“He doesn’t have many holes in his game,” Murray said of Djokovic. “When you play against him, it takes normally six, seven, eight shots, like 15-, 16-shot rallies, to win a lot of points. You have to be very patient, pick your moments to go for the right shots. That’s why he’s been so good the last 18 months.”
