Murray crowned virtual tennis champion
• 3 MINUTE READ
Finals day meant crunch time for the last remaining stars and their in-game avatars at the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro.
Only 4 players remained in both draws, with only 2 matches between them and victory. You could almost feel the excitement in households across the world, as tennis fans gathered around their computers to see who would be crowned the ATP and WTA virtual champions.
Murray survives scare to win the title
Friends became foes in the men's semi-finals, as Murray came up against his virtual hitting partner Diego Schwartzman in his bid to reach the final. The Brit had felt confident ahead of the match but clearly hadn’t accounted for the extra practice Schwartzman had been fitting in. The players got off to a close start, staying on serve and Murray throwing everything at the Argentine to win points – including a Kyrgios-inspired underarm serve.
Murray’s commentary was back to its best, shouting at line calls, fist pumping big winners and joking with his opponent. Unfortunately technical issues meant they had to restart the match a couple of times before eventually, the match was handed to Murray.
In the final Murray would meet a familiar rival in Goffin, who British tennis fans will remember well from the historic Davis Cup Final victory back in 2015. In the semi-finals, Goffin edged out a tight 7-6 upset against favourite Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The two players were very evenly matched, regularly exchanging lengthy rallies upwards of 25 shots. Murray managed to sneak a break halfway through the set before the Belgian fought back to level things up. With nothing to split between the two, we were going to a tie-break. But still the match stayed neck and neck until a mistake from Goffin opened the door for Murray, who took the title with a 7-6 victory.
Bertens back-to-back Madrid champion
Coming into the day, there was very little to choose between the players in the WTA draw, with everything to play for. The day started with Fiona Ferro vs Sorano Cristea, two of the stand-out performers from the first day of the competition. Christea put up a good fight, but it was France’s Ferro who eventually won 6-3. Meanwhile in the other semi-final match, last year’s Mutua Madrid Open champion Kiki Bertens faced Caroline Wozniacki, who knocked out Johanna Konta in yesterday’s match. Bertens clinched a tight 7-5 win over the Dane to reach the final.
Having played in the final here only a year ago (albeit on a real court), Bertens took advantage of her experience and put in a dominant display in the final. The world No.7 beat Ferro in style with a 6-1 win to be crowned the WTA champion.
Back the Brits!
Keep up-to-date with all the British players at the Mutua Madrid Open by following the LTA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and sign up to the LTA's free newsletter.
