ATP Tennis - Murray wins first ATP title in 2009 and is favorite to win Australian Open

The 21-year-old Scottish, Andy Murray, proclaimed himself the champion of the Qatar Open this past weekend by beating Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-2 in the final. This became his sixth victory in 8 matches with the American. The Scottish played in great way this tournament and has improved consistently in his game.

Before getting into the final, Murray defeated the No.2 of the world Roger Federer 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2 and this victory was also the sixth of seven confrontations against the former No. 1, including exhibition games, and it looks like Murray has his eyes put on Federer's game.

Previous to tournament in Doha, Murray beat in a very consistent way the No. 1 of the world Rafael Nadal and the 13-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the exhibition tournament at Abu Dhabi. This has been a great start for the Scottish, who is clearly feeling more confident and more prepared than last year's season. 

The former No.1 player Lleyton Hewitt has recently referred to the British and said that the improvements that Murray has on his game has positioned him as favourite of the Australian Open in Melbourne. For Hewitt, the focuses of his progress are definitely his changes of pace, his serving and his stronger confidence. Murray's great returns and mix of pace have been exquisite to observe in the last two matches. However for Murray himself, he is not still at the top of his game and he will need some time to get to that point, although he is really happy with the way he is playing until now and is more self-assured of his game.

"There are still things in my game I can definitely improve on and that is exciting. I just need to keep working on them when I get my practice weeks throughout the year. I think I'm getting close to playing my best tennis but I still think it could be a year or so away," stated the Scottish tennis player.

Andy has also stated that he does not feel nervous when he plays against the best players of the world because he knows that if he plays his best he always has an option to beat them, no matter what. This is another proof of his confidence and motivation for this 2009 season.

When asked about the coming Australian Open, even though analysts and believers thinks that he is one of the favourites to win the title, Murray doesn't want to say he will win or make predictions about it, especially after his short performance of last year when he was eliminated by Wilfried Tsonga in the first round. Murray just expressed he will take one match at a time and try to play in the best of his abilities.

Nevertheless, we know this young British player is very capable of great things and his attitude and prudence are signs of how seriously is he taking his tennis career. We hope the best for him in this great start of season and we are sure he will keep working hard for a more incredible season this year 2009.