Andy Murray’s 22-match winning streak ended by Marin Cilic in Cincinnati Masters final
Olympic champion Andy Murray saw the longest winning streak of his career finally come to an end on Sunday night when he lost the final of the Cincinnati Masters to Croatian Marin Cilic.
Murray showed signs of fatigue as world No14 Cilic completed a 6-4, 7-5 win over the Briton, who went straight from Rio into this tournament with minimal rest in between.
It was the 29-year-old’s first defeat since losing the French Open final to Novak Djokovic in June – a run that took in success at the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club, a second Wimbledon title and the defence of his men’s singles gold medal at the Olympic Games.
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“I’d like to congratulate Marin on his first Masters series – well done,” Murray said. “I’d like to thank my team as well. It’s been a great run the last few months. I couldn’t get it done today but we’ll keep working to get better.”
Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber, meanwhile, squandered the chance to end Serena Williams’ 183-week reign as women’s world No1 as she lost the Cincinnati Open final to Czech Karolina Pliskova.