Andy Murray wins his first title on grass since his second Wimbledon triumph in 2016 (Picture: PA)
Andy Murray has lifted his first singles trophy on grass in seven years with victory over world No.134 Jurij Rodionov in Sunday’s Surbiton Trophy final.
The 36-year-old has been on a true resurgence since career-saving surgery and his win at the British event is a huge boost ahead of Wimbledon next month.
Murray plays with a metal hip and his 6-3 6-2 win over Austria’s Rodionov makes it two titles in 2023 after he also won the Open du Pays d’Aix in May – his first trophy since October 2019 – with both tournaments on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Despite being one level below the ATP Tour, it is undoubtedly an impressive feat for a player who was told by doctors he would not play professional tennis again as Murray won his first singles title on grass since winning Wimbledon in 2016.
Murray has worked his way back into the top 50 and his victory in Surbiton will see him pick up more ranking points as he looks to climb from his current position of world No.43 ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on July 3.
The three-time Grand Slam champion decided to skip the French Open this year in order to focus on the grass–court season – the surface best suited to his game.
He is next due to feature in Nottingham at another ATP Challenger event, after deciding to play there instead of the Stuttgart Open on the ATP Tour due to the surface being similar to both Queen’s and Wimbledon and it requiring less travel.
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Quizzed if he still considered himself as one of the best 10 players on grass earlier this week, Murray said: ‘Yes, I think so.
‘It is hard to put numbers on it, but yes, I would fancy myself against a lot of them [the top 10].
‘Last year I won against Nick Kyrgios who made the final of Wimbledon, I won against Stefanos Tsitsipas – it is probably not his favourite surface but he is one of the best players in the world.’
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The British legend picks up his second trophy of 2023!