Murray Wins Vienna Over Tsonga, Can Take No. 1 from Djokovic in Paris This Week
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World No. 2 Andy Murray continues his march toward the No. 1 ranking, closing the gap between him and No. 1 Novak Djokovic to just 415 points in the ATP 2016-only standings after the title Sunday at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna, Austria.
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The Scot in the final cut off a late surge from No. 6-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6(6).
“The tiebreak was really, really tight,” Murray said. “I think it was a high-level tiebreak. There wasn’t really many mistakes…Jo fought well and started playing a lot better. He was more aggressive and taking some more chances and making the shots.”
Murray can take the No. 1 ranking for the first time next week in Paris if he wins the title and Djokovic loses before the final.
Tsonga was appearing in his first final since September 2015 when he won in Metz, and fell to 12-11 in career finals.
“I’m really happy with my week,” Tsonga said. “I played good tennis. I fought until the end, and that’s most important for me…It’s always good to play against those [top] players.”
Murray’s seventh title of the year raises him to 42-21 in career finals. He is on a 15-match streak and first rose to the No. 2 ranking more than seven years ago.
Tsonga kept his long-shot chances alive of qualifying for the year-end ATP championships.
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