China Open on Sunday night concluded with the British talent and the world no. 2 Andy Murray bagging his 6th title of the year, extending his W/L record to an impressive 59-9. Andy Murray has, so far, been a talent that has always been in the limelight for his performances in every tournament he has participated in. From Australian Open to Rio Olympics, he has constantly been a consistent target for critics when it comes to having it easy during a lackluster tennis season.

However, with his 6th title in China Open, his quest at becoming the world no. 1 doesn’t seem too far away. Murray put up a spectacular show of grit and determination during the entire tournament, faltering occasionally but ultimately turning out on top of the opponent. His quest with Grigor Dimitrov in the finals was no different as he combined both aspects of his strategies: determination and grit, extremely well. Murray resembled a dicey version of himself when he concluded the first set with a mere 30% first serve percentage. As he tested Grigor with athleticism, the Bulgarian put up his show of perseverance as he later on went to break Murray in the 2nd set.

The 6-4, 7-6(7-2) victory for Murray comes as a morale booster for the Olympic gold medalist as he narrows his trail after Novak Djokovic, who leads the ATP rankings by over 5,000 points. Ever since Djokovic’s injury has plagued his performance starting from Wimbledon 2016, it has been of dire importance for Andy Murray to close down on the rankings. Murray was reportedly quoted as saying: “It’s been an excellent week and I’m very happy with the way I have played the last couple of matches. I will look forward to Shanghai now.”

The once-ruly competition between the top 2 is back in its mainstream as Djokovic looks ahead to maintaining the no.1 title for the 5th time in 6 years. Djokovic will now be seen at the Shanghai Open before defending his titles at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami next year.