Tokyo, Japan – Andy Murray stormed back to upend Rafael Nadal in the title match at the Japan Open Tennis Championships on Sunday.
Murray dropped the first set but dominated the next two in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory over the top-seeded Nadal, the defending champion.
The Scotsman had a dominant service game, winning 79 percent of first serve points and firing six aces. He also staved off 5-of-6 of Nadal's break points and broke his Spanish opponent five times.
Murray, seeded second, recorded his first victory against Nadal since 2010, when he beat the Spaniard in a Toronto semifinal. Nadal had won all four matchups this season, including semifinal victories at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
But Murray has been on a roll of late. He has won 21 of his last 22 matches, a string that started after a surprising loss to Kevin Anderson in the second round at Montreal. He won the Cincinnati tournament before falling to Nadal at the U.S. Open, then captured last week's title in Bangkok.
Murray captured his fourth title of the season with Sunday's win, improved to 5-13 all-time against Nadal and collected $295,000 for the victory.
Nadal was in search of his fourth title of the season.
