Story highlights
Andy Murray fight back to beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Japan Open
Murray allows Nadal just four points in the final set to win 3-6 6-2 6-0
It is Murray's 21st win in 22 matches, a run which has seen him win three titles
The two players are seeded to face each other again in the Shanghai final
World number four Andy Murray continued his superb end of season form, coming back from a set down to beat top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final of the Japan Open in Tokyo on Sunday.
Murray won last week’s Thailand Open, as well as last month’s Cincinnati Masters, but he looked to be on course for a sixth successive loss against world number two Nadal when the Spaniard powered through the opening set.
But Murray turned things around in devastating style, taking the second set and then outplaying 10-times major champion Nadal in the decider, allowing his opponent just four points in the whole set, to complete an impressive 3-6 6-2 6-0 success.
It was Murray’s 21st win from his last 22 matches, his only defeat in that time coming to Nadal in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, and ensured he closed the gap to third-ranked Roger Federer ahead of next week’s Shanghai Masters tournament in China.
Murray told the official ATP Tour website: “I’ve played well in the last few months in Cincinnati and then the U.S. Open and I now need to carry on that form into Shanghai.
“I need to keep up the wins and hopefully I’ll get to the No. 3 ranking. It’s not the ultimate goal, but it’s the target I set myself for the last few tournaments of the year.”
He added: “It had to be some of the best tennis I have ever played in the third set. I’ve played some good matches against Rafa in the past but it was just very consistent. I didn’t make too many mistakes and played well at important moments,” he added.
Nadal, who is again seeded to meet Murray in the final in Shanghai, conceded that his opponent was too strong for him on the day.
“Andy’s serve worked fantastic at important moments. He played unbelievable and made no mistakes in the third set when he played very aggressive and hit a lot of winners.”
Meanwhile, Czech Tomas Berdych claimed his first ATP Tour title in nearly two-and-a-half years with a 3-6 6-4 6-1 success over Croat Marin Cilic in the final of the China Open in Beijing.
Third seed Berdych was securing his sixth career title but his first since winning on the clay courts of Munich in May 2009.
In the women’s final, 11th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland overcame a second set hiccup to defeat Andrea Petkovic of Germany, seeded nine, 7-5 0-6 6-4 to claim her seventh career title.
