Murray rallies past Ferrer for Vienna crown

Vienna, Austria (SportsNetwork.com) - Andy Murray rallied from a set down to top David Ferrer in the final of the Erste Bank Open.

The second-seeded Murray pulled out a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory on Sunday for his 30th career title and second of the year. Both tournament wins have come in the last two months, as the Scot also captured the Shenzhen Open in September.

Ferrer had beaten Murray last week in the third round of the Shanghai Masters and won the first set Sunday, but the top-seeded Spaniard couldn't finish the job. He had six break point chances in the second set, but failed to convert any and Murray broke twice to send the match to a decisive third.

Murray broke early and opened a 2-0 lead, but Ferrer responded with the next four games. Ferrer was serving for the match at 5-3, but a double fault gave Murray a break and he carried that momentum from there by winning the following three games.

A Murray ace finally ended the match after 2 hours and 42 minutes. He improved to 8-6 lifetime against Ferrer.

"It was very tough, with lots of long rallies and long games," said Murray. "The third set was very back and forth, so mentally it was quite a tough match for both of us. I managed to be a bit more consistent and aggressive at the end."

Not only did the two battle on Sunday, but both are vying for one of the final berths in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals. Only eight players qualify for the London event and Murray is eighth, just ahead of Ferrer. The two could meet again next week in the Valencia Open semifinals.

"The next few weeks are extremely important," said Murray. "I just need to win as many matches as possible to keep hold of the eighth spot or go higher."

Murray, who struggled somewhat early in the 2014 campaign while recovering from back surgery performed late last year, improved to 30-14 all-time in finals.

Ferrer dropped to 21-25 in finals, including 1-3 this year. He won in Buenos Aires back in February, but lost in Hamburg and Cincinnati this summer.

"Andy played more aggressively than I did in the crucial moments and he deserved to win," said Ferrer. "Of course, I am disappointed as I lost the match having had a 5-3 lead (in the third set)."

Murray collected a first prize of $120,000.