Thailand Open: Federer beats Murray

Bangkok:

Top-seeded Roger Federer successfully defended his Thailand Open title today by defeating British teenager Andy Murray 6-3 7-5. The world No 1 has now won 24 consecutive ATP finals, including seven this season. "I had to work hard to get to this point. There are tough challengers, but not this week," said Federer. "I'm amazed with myself, and hopefully I'll keep doing this in the future." Federer raced to a 3-0 lead after just nine minutes in the first set, thanks to two double faults from Murray, which gave him a break in the second game. Break point Murray fought back to 2-4 with an ace and forced Federer to deuce several times in the next game in long rallies, but could not get close enough to challenge. In the second set, Murray dropped the opening game and fell to 1-3 but chased down the balls well to break for 3-3 as the Swiss missed an easy forehand. The run of play then went with serves until Federer took charge at the net to break again for a 6-5 lead. Federer fought back from a break point to set up the championship point after Murray netted a backhand. The match ended as Murray repeated the same mistake. After the match, Federer said his young opponent has a lot of promise provided he works hard. (AP)