Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray reached the semi-final of the Masters 1000 event in Toronto 2010, proving their dominance once again. Andy Murray went all the way to clinch the 15th ATP title and the fifth at the Masters 1000 level, beating Rafael Nadal in the semis and Roger Federer in the title match.
Andy became a rare player who defeated Roger and Rafa at the same event and the first who defended the Canada Open since Andre Agassi in 1995. It was not easy to settle into a rhythm in the rain-interrupted final. Still, Andy emerged as a winner following a 7-5, 7-5 triumph in two hours and five minutes.
The Briton claimed his seventh victory over Federer in 12 encounters and the first since Indian Wells 2009. Andy struggled to find the first serve, and Roger could not take advantage of that. He created four break chances and stole the rival’s serve three times.
Instead of building on that, Federer struggled behind the initial shot, dropping over 40% of the points and playing against ten break chances. He got broken five times after almost 30 unforced errors, ended on the losing side and missed a chance of winning the third crown in Toronto after 2004 and 2006.
Andy had 24 winners and 24 unforced errors. At the same time, Roger stood on a negative 20-31 ratio, unable to impose his shots and take advantage in the shortest rallies. Murray got off to a perfect start, breaking in the match’s first game after forcing Roger’s error and holding at 15 with a service winner in the next one.
Federer was yet to hit the zone, and he gave his serve away again in game three following a backhand error to send Murray 3-0 up.
Andy Murray beat Roger Federer 7-5, 7-5 in the 2010 Toronto final.
The Swiss started to climb back in game four after breaking Andy at love and fired a service winner in the next one to move closer to the opponent.
A forehand winner pushed Murray 4-2 in front. Still, Roger was now the ruler in his games, reducing the deficit and hoping for more chances on the return. They did not come in game eight, as Andy held after Roger’s backhand error, leaving the Swiss to serve for staying in the opener.
Federer held at 30 to reduce the deficit to 5-4 and grabbed that desired break a few minutes later after Murray’s costly double fault while serving for the set. Instead of building on that, Roger squandered a game point at 5-5 and sprayed a forehand error to gift another break to Andy.
The Briton did everything right this time, forcing Federer’s backhand mistake to clinch the set 7-5 in 47 minutes. The rain started to cause trouble at the beginning of the second set. Roger was the first who suffered from the lack of rhythm, spraying a forehand error in game five to find himself a set and a break down.
They had to go off the court for almost an hour. Federer pulled the break back in game six when they returned to level the score at 3-3 and gain a boost. A forehand winner sent Roger 4-3 ahead before Andy made a good hold with a service winner to keep himself on the positive side.
Federer stayed focused and closed the ninth game with a forehand drive volley winner. Still, Murray was not to be denied, bringing the tenth game home with an unreturned serve and preparing himself for the pivotal game of the entire encounter.
Roger collapsed under pressure, and Andy broke him with a volley winner after a well-constructed attack that allowed him to serve for the title. Federer had a chance to prolong the set and the match but missed a clean forehand that could have given him two break chances in game 12.
Still, he earned the one last possibility to reach the tie break. Andy repelled it with an ace and hit another to gain a match point, squandering it when his drop shot failed to pass the net. The second championship point was the lucky one for Murray, who started a title celebration, the first since Valencia 2009.
