Andy Murray clinched the first clay court title of his career with victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Munich Open on Monday.
The Briton, 27, kept his cool en route to sealing a 7-6 (4) 5-7 7-6 (4) win in a rain-delayed final.
“This was my first final on clay and to come out and play a match like that, I am very pleased to have won,” Murray said in his courktside interview.”
Murray, whose previous 31 titles had been recorded on hardcourt, grass and carpet, needed just one clay court final to claim his first title on the surface.
The game was suspended after only 23 minutes on Sunday due to rain and when it resumed on Monday with two-time winner Kohlschreiber maintaining a 3-2 edge, both players fought to assert domination in the game, holding serve to force a tie break.
Murray topped the tiebreak and raced into a 4-3 lead in the second set. The Scot watched three break points pass by as Kohlschreiber upped the antics, making the most of his first serve to draw level.
It was another ding dong affair in the third set as both players soon found themselves holding serves to force another tiebreak.
Murray closed out the match on his second match point to claim his first victory as a husband and under his new coach Jonas Bjorkman.
He continued: “I had very few chances when I was returning. I was lucky to get a couple of good shots when I was behind in the tiebreak and hang on in the end.”
