VALENCIA, Spain (AP) Andy Murray won his sixth title of the
season Sunday in his first tournament back from a wrist injury,
beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-3, 6-2 in the Valencia Open
final.
The fourth-ranked Scot hadn't played since the U.S. Open in
September. He broke twice in each set and served eight aces to
improve to 2-0 against the 23rd-ranked Youzhny.
''I'd say it was a little easier than I had expected, but he is
a tough player,'' Murray said. ''I didn't have high expectations
this week, but with every round and match you get more confident.
It is very rare for someone to win a tournament after a long
break.''
With both players stretched to three-set semifinals on Saturday,
Murray believed fatigue played a factor.
''I knew the start of the match was going to be important and I
started well, going up 5-1 pretty quickly,'' he said.
Murray won 26 of 29 first-serve points as he improved his indoor
record to 12-0 this season. Having saved two of three break points
in the first set, Murray jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second by
dictating play from the baseline. He closed out the victory with an
ace.
(Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)