Andy Murray wins his first title since 2019 by beating Tommy Paul

Andy Murray wins his first title since 2019 after rallying from a set down to beat America’s Tommy Paul at the Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger final in France

  • Andy Murray has won the Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger final in France
  • The British star battled back from a set down to beat America’s Tommy Paul
  • Murray secured his first title since 2019 by brushing aside the event’s top seed

Andy Murray has won the Aix-en-Provence ATP tour challenger event after rallying from a dropped opening set to beat America’s Tommy Paul  6-1, 1-6, 2-6.

The British ace clinched his first title since 2019 to mark a resurgence to form on the clay after a difficult year so far.

Former world number one Murray was pushed all the way by the tournament’s top seed, Paul, who had previously beaten Belgium’s David Goffin in the semi-finals.

Paul surged to a quick opening set victory as Murray struggled in the opening games but lagged behind in subsequent sets as the Scotsman rallied to fire back.

Murray turned on his previous title-winning form to stun the American with the same scoreline in the second set before stealing a march in the final set.

Andy Murray has won the Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger final in France on Sunday

America’s Tommy Paul (pictured) took the first set of Murray before the Scotsman rallied late-on

Murray had to work hard in the 20c+ heat of the southern France city against an opponent ranked 17th in the world, 35 places higher than him in the ATP world rankings.

His last title came in the Belgium city of Antwerp in 2019 and has come into form ahead of what will be only his second French Open appearance ahead of the Grand Slam getting underway on May 28.

Victory in Sunday’s second-tier tournament granted the 35-year-old more experience on the clay ahead of the testing French open.

Murray will head to Rome before preparing for only his second French Open appearance in six years at the end of May

It also marks the first time that Murray has won a Challenger event in 18 years and see’s him move into the world’s top 50 rankings. The full rankings will be published next week.

Murray will head to Rome next week to test himself in another warm-up event before kick-starting his hopes of clinching a first-ever French Open title at the end of May. 

That will mark only his second appearance at Roland Garros in six years as he looks to enjoy a final farewell meeting on the French clay court. 

Murray will then head back to England in July where he will be welcomed by a home crowd hoping to see the two-time champion rise to another stunning victory against the odds at Wimbledon. 

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