SYDNEY, January 16, 2016
Viktor Troicki retained his Apia International Sydney crown, winning a dramatic final on Saturday night against Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-1, 7-6.
The third seed from Serbia, who fired 9 aces, had to save one match point in the tie-break of the final to close a pulsating encounter after two hours and 16 minutes becoming the first repeat winner in Sydney since James Blake 2006/07.
Troicki captured his third ATP World Tour title, adding to his success in Sydney last year and his victory in Moscow in 2010.
“It’s great to win again, second year in a row. I love this tournament. This was my third final, second title, and it’s a great feeling. It’s great to win at the start of the year, to start the year with such confidence. Hopefully I continue to play well. I really believe I can play good tennis, and I hope I prove it this year,” Troicki said.
“One ball decided the match. It was my favourite shot of all at the end to win it. So many times that shot brought me a lot of happiness. That’s how I won the Davis Cup title, my last point. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I lost today. It would’ve been just crazy to recover from it,” he continued and added:
“In the third set it was open. I was serving at 5-4. I don’t know what happened there. Just glad in the end. It could have gone either way. I was maybe a bit more fortunate to win in the end. I’ve got to admit it’s stressful. This was I believe my eighth final, and I’ve never had it this close, this tight.”
Dimitrov fell to a 4-3 finas record. The Bulgarian had been looking to lift his first trophy since triumphing at The Queen’s Club in June 2014.
“It’s never easy losing from a match point. It’s in the game. Obviously it was Viktor’s day today. I think everything was pretty much going on his side,” Dimitrov said.
“Especially even after that first set, I knew he was going to do something else. I think early on he got a few good calls, few good shots, so that kind of lifted him up. I’m giving all the credit to him today. It’s been a while for me to be in a final. I think even early on I was nervous, but I still played good tennis,” he told and added:
“I’m happy to have that feeling back; happy to feel like those little butterflies again. That’s the most important thing for me right now.”
Doubles champions: Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (photo: Apia International Sydney)
Jamie Murray and Brono Soares claimed the doubles title, winning 6-3, 7-6 over Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in one hour and 29 minutes.
“Bruno said at 5-0, ‘Let’s hang around and see what happens.’ We managed to play a couple of good points, which got us back in it. We won eight of the next nine points. I think it was testament to us. We fought hard this week. We came through a lot of close battles and we’re really excited to win our first title together,” told Murray.
“It’s been a very good start. We had a great event in Doha, reaching the semi-finals and came here and won the trophy. It’s the best preparation we can have for Melbourne. We’re playing good, feeling good. Now it’s time to go to the big one and perform well. I think we’re No. 1 in the world right now, so on the right track! We hope we can manage to be in the same position in December,” Soares added.
