Andy Murray made a flying start to the season by beating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the Qatar Open.
Fourth title for British number one in Doha
Andy Murray made a flying start to the season by beating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the Qatar Open.
The British number one, a beaten finalist in this event 12 months ago, won 6-4 4-6 6-2 to take the fourth ATP title of his career in his eighth final.
Wawrinka came into the match boasting a 2-0 career record against Murray and he battled hard throughout, but the world number 36 was unable to bridge the gap in quality.
After winning a see-saw first set in which both men struggled to hold serve, Murray was pegged back when Wawrinka claimed the decisive break in the second.
The third set was a one-sided affair, with the Swiss man fighting to stay in contention before Murray eventually won out after almost two and a half hours on court.
The first three games of the match went against serve before Murray held for a 3-1 lead.
Consolidate
However, Wawrinka quickly hit back to level it at 3-3 before Murray earned his third successive break of serve. This time he was able to consolidate on serve before holding for the set.
The second set saw both players serve with more conviction, before Murray made the crucial mistake at 4-5 and enabled Wawrinka to force a decider.
Wawrinka could not keep up the momentum, though, as Murray once again broke his first service game before holding for a 2-0 lead.
Four chances came and went for the Scot to claim a double break, but he eventually got there when he broke to love in the seventh game to open up a 5-2 lead.
Serving for the match, Murray showed no signs of tension and he wrapped up the win when Wawrinka flashed a cross-court backhand wide.
