Andy Murray became the first British champion at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as he defeated Fernado Verdaso 6-3 6-2. It was his best win over the Spaniard since Miami almost exactly eight years ago, and comes after he finished as runner-up to Roger Federer in Dubai in 2012. Incredibly, it was his seventh final in his last eight tournaments and 14th in his last 16, and he has won 37 of his last 39 matches.
"Yeah, it's obviously nice to win," said Murray. "You know, I played much better as the match went on. Obviously started a little bit slow. Yeah, I mean, I was solid. You know, I wasn't afraid to sort of attack his forehand side. He's got one of the best forehands, but I tried to move him around the court as much as I could. I defended pretty well. Moved well. Served a lot better as the match went on. It was obviously good to win the first tournament here."
Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau claimed the doubles title with a 4-6 6-3 10-3 win over Rohan Bopanna and Marcin Matkowski. It is their 13th title together, which includes both Wimbledon and the ATP World Tour Finals in 2015. It is Rojer's 22nd doubles title and Tecau's 30th. Bopanna was seeking his fourth Dubai title after winning in 2012, 2014 and 2015, all with different partners.