Murray beats Nadal 6-0...No, really, we're not winding you up

Sometimes you watch Andy Murray play and it seems a pure mystery how he has yet to win a Grand Slam title.

On Sunday, the final of the Japan Open was one of those occasions, as he annihilated Rafael Nadal in a way that is almost impossible to achieve when the Spanish maestro is properly fit.

Nadal just does not do 0-6 sets, yet here he was being force-fed a bagel, as it is described in the trade, with Murray inflicting a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 defeat.



Sealed with a kiss: Andy Murray shows off his trophy in Tokyo

To cap a supremely successful day, the 24-year-old Scot then partnered brother Jamie to a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the doubles final over Czech pair Frantisek Cermak and Filip Polasek, completing a rare brace of titles in Tokyo.

Nadal did get blanked for a set back in January at the Qatar Open by Slovak Lukas Lacko, although he was running a temperature at the time and still won.

This time he was powerless in the face of a Murray onslaught that saw him win the last eight games and concede only four points in the decider, with the British No 1 finding that elusive combination of attack and defence which can be so lethal.

Star of the show: Murray stands next to Nadal after their battle

The win puts Murray within sight of reclaiming the world No 3 spot from the absent Roger Federer if he can win this week’s weakened Shanghai Masters, which is without the injured Swiss master and Novak Djokovic.

‘I played some great tennis, especially in the third set,’ said Murray. ‘There were a lot of close games in the beginning of the second and I managed to get the momentum.

‘For sure the third set was some of the best tennis I have played against him. I need to keep up the wins and hopefully I’ll get the No 3 ranking. It’s not the ultimate goal but it’s the target I’ve set for the last few tournaments of the year.’

Murray rightly attributed much of his success to ‘keeping a cool head at the important moments’ and that was a massive difference from their most recent meetings.

With depressing timing, these have been in the semi-finals of the last three Grand Slams when Murray’s tetchy demeanour has sometimes resembled that of a man with itching powder in his shorts.



Double trouble: The brothers Murray took the title in Japan







And it has to be pointed out that, when the record comes to be written of the 2011 season, it will show Nadal triumphed at the times when it most mattered and the pressure was the greatest.

Nothing which happened on Sunday in this relative post US Open lull can reverse that, although it will be fascinating to see if they come up against each other next month at the O2 Arena in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

What can be said is that Murray emphatically snapped an increasingly awkward sequence, and he did it in a style which shows why every other player fears what he can do when his mind is firmly switched on.

In the past he may have been guilty of trying to focus too much on the majors, but 21 victories in the past 22 matches speaks of someone now looking after the pennies in the belief that the pounds will look after themselves.

His achievement of yesterday becoming the first British man to win the Japan Open in its 40-year history can stand alone, but it could also serve as a building block towards greater things.

Unplayable: Murray produced some of his best tennis against Nadal

For the first hour of play it looked a familiar story when these two meet, with Murray starting slowly, playing a lousy opening game and then missing his first three break points.

It all changed when he broke for 3-1 in the second and then served three straight aces from 0-40 down in the next game to help consolidate the break.

The final set simply belongs on his career showreel — a brilliant demolition of someone who is already an all-time great.



The line-scorching winners came in a flurry against a bewildered Nadal, who will be concerned that he has now lost six out of nine tour finals in 2011.

‘He played unbelievable,’ said the Spaniard. ‘When you are playing someone at that level the only way is to try to get free points on serve but it was impossible.’