Theo Thompson

Scot wins his first clay-court championship since 2016

Andy Murray won the ATP Challenger Tour 175 match in Aix-en-Provence on Sunday after overcoming a sluggish start and the World No. 17 Tommy Paul.

The Scot found consistency from the baseline to rally to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph against top seed Paul at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole in front of a jam-packed stadium in southern France.

“My game has been a little bit of a struggle over the past year or so. Murray added during the title ceremony, “But [my team] have been there supporting me and working with me to try and get better. “From here, we continue.”

Murray defeated World No. 17 Paul on Sunday to secure his third Top-20 victory of the year and the first Challenger title since the Binghamton Challenger in 2005.

The supporters that came out to support this week [were] the most significant aspect, according to Murray. “The atmosphere was fantastic from the very first match to the very last. You people showed there even before the competition began, which is hugely crucial for these events to have local support.

“You were out here watching and encouraging [during] the practice sessions. It has great significance for the players and for this tournament as well.

Murray, a three-time major winner, won at Aix-en-Provence, marking his first triumph on clay since taking the ATP Masters 1000 Rome tournament in 2016. Murray won his first victory of any kind on Sunday after winning the ATP 250 competition in Antwerp in 2019. Due to his performance in France, Murray moved up to No. 42 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Compared to Paul’s 47%, the former World No. 1 earned 68% of his second-serve points. After one hour and 55 minutes, Murray won the match after earning nine break points and converting four of them.

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