Novak Djokovic believes his serve cost him the Montreal Masters title
Monday 17 August 2015 12:04, UK
Novak Djokovic suffered only his fourth defeat of the year against Andy Murray to miss out on the Montreal Masters title, and the world No 1 believes the key to his opponent's victory was the difference in their serves.
Djokovic, the champion in 2007, 2011 and 2012, went into the contest with 19-8 head-to-head record against the new World No 2, Murray.
In the three-hour long match, Murray forced a total of 19 break points on Djokovic’s serve. The spirited Serb showed heart, however, to stay in the match before eventually succumbing to the pressure.
Djokovic said pain in his right elbow limited his ability to serve and ultimately cost him the match.
"Not taking anything away from him, from his victory," he said. "He deserved it.
"I thought what made the difference was his serve and my serve. I didn't serve well the first set and a half.
"He stepped in, played some great shots. Most of all the moments when he needed to, he served very, very well. That one game when I had I think four, five opportunities to break back, he just came up always with big serves, so I couldn't do much. But it was a great week all in all for me."
Djokovic was denied the opportunity to tie the ATP Tour record for consecutive Masters 1000 event titles at five.
The Serbian was playing his ninth straight final, a run that included championship victories over Murray this year in the Australian Open and the Miami Masters.
Going into Sunday’s final, Djokovic had spent a total of 11 hours and 14 minutes on the Montreal court, having reached the doubles semi-finals with Janko Tipsarevic, while Murray spent three hours and 15 minutes less than his rival.
The British No 1, who went out in the second round of the doubles with Leander Paes, had spent a total of seven hours and 59 min on court last week.
