Result
World number 4 Scot, Andy Murray, defeated world number 3 Serb, Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-5, to win his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament and became the first British champion at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
Analysis
Here are some observations and analysis from the tournament.
Andy Murray
There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that he is currently the best player in the world (behind Nadal). The Scot is the first player this season to win three ATP World Tour titles. He also captured the Doha title (defeating Federer and Roddick on route) and the Rotterdam title, when he defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Two weeks ago he finished runner-up to Nadal in the final of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells. The only disappointment this year is a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open where, as a pre-tournament favorite, he was defeated by Fernando Verdasco in five sets.
In the Miami final, Murray showed off his great repertoire of shots as well as great footwork in retreiving shots from all corners of the court. He was able to successful fight off a change in strategy by the Serb (who proceeded to rush to the net more often to keep points shorter) and came back from 1-4 down (as well as two set points down) in the second set to claim the title.
Rafael Nadal
He was clearly not playing at his best, but still, he only lost to a top 5 player (Del Potro) in a third set tie-breaker. This shows how tough mentally he is.
Roger Federer
With Nadal bowing out in the QFs, and with no tournament victories this season, it was a chance for Federer to reestablish himself by winning this major tournament. Instead, he lost in the SF against Djokovic, making plenty of unforced errors with his forehand, and letting out his steam by breaking a racquet in a process. He has only won one single match in his last 11 matches against Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, his sole win being over Djokovic when Djokovic retired half way through that match due to dizziness. Hard to see him reexerting his greatness again with these kinds of results.
Novak Djokovic
It was evident that he found it difficult to handle the heat, and this is an area that he must improve if he is to stay at the top. However, he showed his resilience by changing his game half way through the final by attacking the net to try to catch Murray off guard, with some success.
Juan Martin Del Potro
The QF win over Nadal is the Argentine's most significant win to date, and to be able to come from behind in the final set against one of the toughest player on tour is extremelyt impressive.
Women's tournament
Result
World number 1 Serena Williams, battling injury and erratic groundstrokes, was upset 6-3, 6-1 by 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Analysis
My observations and analysis of the women's tournament relate to one player only - the winner of the tournament, Azarenka.
Victoria Azarenka
As predicted in my previous blog entry, this is a girl you should be keeping your eye on now. Her rise to the top has been quick, and with solid groundstrokes, and courageous play, this significant victory may signal a changing of the guard in the women's game.
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