Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Apia International Sydney
Sydney Australia

TENNIS RESULTS – SATURDAY, 16 JANUARY 2016

Singles – Final
[3] V. Troicki (SRB) d [4] G. Dimitrov (BUL) 26 61 76(7) – saved 1 M.P.

Doubles – Final
J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA) d [4] R. Bopanna (IND) / F. Mergea (ROU) 63 76(6)
TROICKI PREVAILS IN PULSATING FINAL; MURRAY/SOARES WIN DOUBLES CROWN

•    Viktor Troicki retained his Apia International Sydney crown in dramatic fashion on Saturday night, saving one match point in a pulsating third set.
•    Troicki became the first repeat winner in Sydney since James Blake in 2006-07 as he prevailed in two hours and 17 minutes.
•    The Serb captured his third ATP World Tour title (3-5 finals record), adding to his success in Sydney last year (d. Kukushkin) and victory in Moscow in 2010 (d. Baghdatis).
•    Troicki was denied a match point at 6-5 in the third set tie-break, before saving one for Dimitrov at 7-6. The 29-year-old Troicki closed the match in fitting fashion, finding the outside edge of the line with a backhand passing shot on his second match point.
•    The 24-year-old Dimitrov fell to a 4-3 finals record. The right-hander had been looking to lift his first trophy since triumphing at The Queen’s Club in June 2014.
•    Murray and Soares captured their first team title in their second tournament together.
•    From 0-5 down in the second set tie-break, Murray and Soares won eight of the next nine points to triumph.
•    Bopanna had been attempting to win his third straight Sydney title with as many partners.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Troicki: “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.

“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.

“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: “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.

“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.

“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.”

Murray: “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.”

Soares: “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.”

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.