Murray relief after claiming belated win

Andy Murray of Great Britain holds the trophy after he beats Fernando Verdasco of Spain during the final match of the Dubai Tennis Championships. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

The world No 1, who was a runner-up in 2012, looked to have left his game in the locker room when he was broken twice at the start of the match

However, a strong recovery saw him seal a 6-3 6-2 victory over the Spaniard and collect his first title of the year.

“It’s nice to win and I played much better as the match went on,” said Murray said.

“I started a little bit slow, but I was solid. I wasn’t afraid to attack his forehand side. He’s got one of the best forehands, but I tried to move him around the court as much as I could.

“I defended pretty well and moved well. I served a lot better as the match went on. It was obviously good to win the first tournament here.

“Maybe today it could have been a bit of nerves. Yesterday I didn’t feel particularly nervous, but today, sometimes in a final there is a bit more pressure. You’re playing for something and sometimes you want to start a little bit quicker.”

Murray’s next tournament is the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, which begins on Thursday.

“The conditions are totally different there,” said the Scot.

“Indian Wells is a very slow court with fast balls and the other way around here, fast court with quite slow balls. So, obviously I have to get there and adjust to that. But winning this week is fantastic, and obviously winning matches builds confidence.”

Jamie Murray combined with Bruno Soares of Brazil to secure their first ATP doubles title of 2017 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco. They beat John Isner and Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-3 for their fourth title together.