Murray Fends off Dr. Ivo for San Jose Title

Posted on February 18, 2007

Andy Murray of Scotland won the title for the second straight year at the SAP Open in San Jose Sunday, outlasting Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(2).

Murray is the first player to repeat his San Jose crown since Andy Roddick in 2004-05. The Scotsman beat Roddick in the semifinals this year and last en route to his first two ATP titles.

Murray joins three other active players who successfully defended their first ATP title: Mario Ancic (2005-06 's-Hertogenbosch), Richard Gasquet (2005-06 Nottingham) and Paradorn Srichaphan (2002-03 Long Island). 

Murray withstood 26 aces from the 6'10" (2.08m) Croat, who blasted a record 113 aces for the tournament.

Murray was able to break Karlovic twice in 17 service games, double the amount Karlovic had been broken in his prior 51 service games this week.

Karlovic won 84 percent of his first-serve points, but only 40 percent on his second serve. The first meeting between Karlovic and Murray lasted two hours and 34 minutes.

The Scotsman improved his record in ATP finals to 2-3. He beat Lleyton Hewitt for the SAP Open title in his debut last year and has a career mark of 10-0 in San Jose. Murray is off to a torrid start of 12-2 this year. He finished as runner-up at Doha last month (l. to Ljubicic).

Murray has a career-best ATP Ranking of No. 13, making him the highest-ranked teenager, one rung ahead of fellow 19-year-old Novak Djokovic.

Karlovic, who turns 28 on Feb. 28, was appearing in the second final of his ATP career. He also was runner-up at London-Queen's Club in 2005 (l. to Roddick).

He is off to a 7-4 start this year and will jump higher from his No. 103 ranking next week. Karlovic has a career mark of 4-2 at San Jose, losing in the first round in his debut last year (to B. Wilson). 

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Murray: “He can hit spots on the court that guys physically can’t even see.  He can consistently hit 140-mile-an-hour serves. He’s so tough to win against.”

“You know he is probably the best server in the game, but he’s not the best returner.  You just have to try and focus on playing your game.”

“This year was a much quicker court but I managed to work with the conditions.   I think I got a little bit of luck here. I kind of make up for not being as quick by my anticipation and how quick I see the ball.”

Karlovic: “I was maybe rushing a little bit, and that’s why I lost my serve. My serve wasn't as good as before, and that’s why I lost the second set.”

"The atmosphere was unbelievable. It was really exciting, and I enjoyed every part of it.”

“This year I think that I could be top 30. It’s realistic I think. Of course it depends on the knee, on other factors, and also a little bit of luck. We will see." (ATP)