Andy Murray: Former World No 1 beats Tommy Paul to clinch first Challenger Tour title in 18 years

Andy Murray won his first ATP Challenger Tour title since 2005 as the former world No 1 beat Tommy Paul in a deciding set in Aix-en-Provence on Sunday.

The Scot, a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after his first-round defeat in the Madrid Open, came through 2-6 6-1 6-2 in an hour and 56 minutes in his first clay-court final since the 2016 French Open.

Victory is set to move him closer to the top 40 in the world, thereby increasing his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon later this summer.

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"This last year, 18 months has been a bit of struggle with my game. But [my team] have been there supporting me and working with me to try and get better," Murray said on court, per the official ATP website. "We keep going from here."

It marked Murray's second final of the year after his was beaten by Daniil Medvedev in Doha in February, while serving as his third win over a top 20 opponent with Paul ranked 17th in the world.

The 35-year-old's last title on any surface came back in 2019 when he beat Stan Warwinka in Antwerp.

Murray dropped the first four games of the match as Paul cruised to the opening set having won 73 per cent and 89 per cent of first and second serve points, respectively, to his opponent's 45 per cent and 57 per cent.

The tables turned in set two when Murray threatened a bagel by winning five straight games before levelling the match after dominating on his return.

Murray then sought to capitalise early in the third by establishing an immediate two-game cushion, and never looked back from there as he went on to clinch a decisive break of serve for a 5-2 lead that would pave the way to victory.

He had entered the tournament on the back of four successive defeats having been beaten by Jack Draper in Indian Wells followed by first-round losses to Dusan Lajovic (Miami), Alex De Minaur (Monte Carlo) and world 164 Andrea Vavassori (Madrid), equalling the worst run in his professional career.

A commanding week at the Challenger Tour would prove a perfect response to fuel hopes of his involvement in an extended clay court season and, perhaps more importantly, the grass court campaign.

Murray's semi-final win over Harold Mayot guaranteed his return to the top 50.