World No. 44 Andy Murray toppled Frenchman qualifier Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 after one hour and 46 minutes on Sunday to lift his maiden Rothesay Open Nottingham title, his second trophy in as many weeks on the grass surface.
After the championship match, he commented: “It’s been a really good week. I’ve really enjoyed my time here. I played really well and got better as the week went on.”
Fresh from capturing the Lexus Surbiton Trophy, a 125-level ATP Challenger Tour last week, becoming the oldest Challenger winner in grass court history (since 1978), he set off to a flawless run in Nottingham.
The 36-year-old went all the day to the final without dropping a set to defeat Cazaux in style, just ahead of his upcoming challenge, the ATP 500 Cinch Championships, a tournament he won a record five times.
Assessing the encounter against his 20-year-old opponent, he outlined: “It was quite a physical match today, lots of long rallies, but I am glad to get through it, and on to Queen’s we go.
“He hasn’t played much on grass before, and coming through qualifying to reach the final, I thought he played better and better as the match went on, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him.”
Murray will launch his campaign at the prestigious tournament on Tuesday against seventh seed Alex de Minaur, and albeit the latter leads their series 3-0, they have never met before on grass.
The former world number one elected to withdraw from Roland-Garros to shift focus on the grass court swing, which often sees him deliver some of his best tennis.
And he has succeeded in doing so, wrapping up his warming-up 2023 campaign on grass to a 10-match winning streak, clinching his third ATP Challenger Tour title of the year - Aix-en-Provence, Surbiton, and Nottingham.
At the Rothesay Open, the two-time Wimbledon champion opened against Joris de Loore, earning a 6-3, 6-4 victory to reach the second round when he defeated Frenchman Hugo Grenier, also in straight sets to make it through a second consecutive quarterfinal.
On Friday, the top seed powered past eighth seed Dominic Stricker 7-6(2), 7-5, progressing into the semifinals.
Then, Murray faced third seed, Nuno Borges, overcoming the Portuguese player 6-3, 6-2, securing a spot in the Challenger final, his second in a row.
The Cinch Championships runs from June 19 to 25 and will lack the presence of defending champion Matteo Berrettini who pulled out from the ATP 500 on Sunday.
The Italian stated: “I’m really sad to have to withdraw from the tournament and not get the chance to defend my title. I wish the tournament and everyone involved a successful week. I look forward to coming back next year.”