Andy Murray celebrates No1 status with Paris win and earns everyone’s respect

Andy Murray’s gift to tennis goes beyond the excellence he brings to the court and the occasional bon mot, intentional or otherwise, with which he embroiders his many triumphs. In celebrating his capture of the one crown that many doubters thought was beyond his reach, the No1 world ranking Novak Djokovic held for 122 weeks until this weekend, he reminded us again of his ability to inspire admiration and respect from both his rivals and those close to him.

Even the man he beat in the Paris Masters final here on Sunday, John Isner, acknowledged the Scot is a cut above in every way. “He’s the guy that everyone is looking up to right now,” the American said after Murray had ground out a tenacious 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 win over two hours and 17 minutes on Court Central.

Isner added: “And he’s been at the top of the game for so long. Whether it’s No2, 3 or 4 in the world, everyone knows how hard he works and how dedicated he is. He’s a big inspiration to myself, and I’m sure he’s a big inspiration to other players as well.”

It was a predictably perverse coronation: a three-set fight against an opponent he had beaten seven times in a row and who had broken him just once in 34 attempts. It is almost a given that a big match involving Murray will not be dull. It has been that way since he stepped on to the grass at Wimbledon as a shy and thin teenager 11 years ago. It was like that when he won the second of his three slams, beating Djokovic at Wimbledon on a suitably sunny Sunday afternoon in 2013 with a hand trembling like a kid’s on his first day at school. It was probably like that when he first held a racket in Dunblane at the age of four.

And so it proved in front of 14,000 enthralled fans here. Murray was nervous, he conceded, but in a good way. It meant it mattered. It nearly always does. Isner played near to his best, and said: “My game is the best it’s been all year, without a doubt. I knew I had to bring it today if I wanted any chance, because not often do you get to a stage in a tournament like this against a guy like that where he plays poorly or gives you the match.”

Murray revealed he had never received so many messages of congratulations. They included tweets from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal among fellow players, the actor Kevin Spacey, his former coach Amélie Mauresmo, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Djokovic, whom Murray has known since they were 11, was not among them, although he praised him lavishly after his own exit on Friday. Djokovic is still the biggest threat in the game, whatever his problems on and off the court in recent months. And he may yet regain his place before the year is over.

“When you hear from any players, it’s very nice,” Murray said, “because you know you have won their respect. It is the most important thing when you’re done playing. I got a lot of messages last night, more than I’ve had after any match I have played in my life, probably. But the stuff from the family is nicest, because they have been there pretty much from the start. Also, because you’re open with your family, they have seen all the ups and downs and the tough moments you have been through. It means the most when it comes from the family or people you care about the most.”

If Djokovic goes through the ATP World Tour Finals in London next week undefeated he will end the season where he started 2015 and this year, at the top of the pile. But will he be there? There were signs of spiritual weariness just short of resignation about his tennis and his demeanour the past few days. He needs a hug – from his family probably more than his recently acknowledged life coach, Pepe Imaz, who is said to send him messages through a container of boiled rice.

Although he would be reluctant to let the ATP down in London by withdrawing (he also has a lingering injury to his right arm), he might take the opportunity to rest properly before the Australian Open, which starts on 16 January. That is what Federer decided to do when he realised his knee injury was not responding during an even longer sabbatical; likewise, Nadal left the battlefield early this year. But the 29-year-old Murray is still standing – and the oldest to become No1 for the first time since the 30-year-old John Newcombe in 1974. If Djokovic were to join Federer and Nadal on the absentees list, it would be a different sort of triumph for Murray: one of endurance, a quality he has always valued. He said after Milos Raonic’s pre‑match retirement with a quad injury on Saturday that getting to the top of the mountain has always been about lasting the whole season.

Djokovic had been there since July, 2014. He looked almost relieved to be spared the burden of being hunted every week. Pointedly, he did not feel that way in 2011 when racking up 43 wins in a row and during his subsequent periods of dominance. Now, though, he is older and possibly less enthused by the challenge. As he said after losing to Cilic in the quarter-finals: “It took a lot out of me. It has put some things in perspective and raised some questions in which direction I want to go to.”

His most telling comment was: “In important moments, I wasn’t able to deliver.” In those moments this week, and for the past 19 matches encompassing four titles in a row, that is exactly what Murray has been able to do, however tired. Sunday was no different.

Isner went in to the match with his strong right arm oiled to perfection, after racking up 88 aces during the week. He has also returned serve well to get to the final, especially on Saturday when he hit a level of consistency that was too strong for Cilic. The quarter-final was Cilic’s first win over the Serb in 15 attempts, the semi-final was Isner’s first win over Cilic in seven attempts. So preconceptions have been tumbling all over the place in Paris.

From the start, Murray imposed his will on Isner and it took only 20 minutes of quality pressure to break him. Two belting forehands earned Isner his 35th career break chance against Murray – and the Scot lobbed the 6ft 10in Isner with such delicacy to rescue the situation that the ball would not have smashed had it been a peach. He survived the minor crisis and went on to take the set in 35 minutes. 

There wasn’t much in it but Murray was stronger in the big points.

Murray soaked up six aces in the first set and they kept coming at him in the second. Isner grabbed four break points in the eighth game but, true to script, could not convert, his last shot drifting long as wearily as a feather on the wind.

Isner dug in. He hit harder, ran faster and moved with increasing menace at the net to force a ninth career tiebreak between them, and found a closing forehand of perfect angle and weight to force a third set. Murray steeled himself to the task with increased vigour, ignoring five aces and a torrent of pace and power oozing from his opponent’s racket. As we suspected he might, Murray outlasted Isner again. It is the refusal to let his level drop for any length of time that has elevated him to where he is – statistically and deservedly the best player in the world right now and, who knows, maybe for a little while to come yet.