Andy Murray prevailed in the inaugural Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro after edging out Belgium’s David Goffin in the final.
Murray overcame Goffin on a tiebreak 7-6 (5) on PlayStation game Tennis World Tour in a competition arranged to replace the postponed Madrid Open, which the Scot has won twice in his career.
He said afterwards: “Of all the matches I played, that felt like a proper match, we were a similar level.
“It was good. I enjoyed it, there’s not much we can do just now, we spend most of the days indoors and can’t get out much so it was a fun thing to do.”
Former world number one Murray was gifted a route into the showpiece following some bizarre technical glitches in his semi-final against Diego Schwartzman on Thursday afternoon.
The Argentinian unfathomably kept being awarded points, a situation which led Murray to say: “This is madness.”
Schwartzman won a tiebreak – despite the last point being a winner from Murray – but the South American graciously stepped aside.
Your 2020 @MutuaMadridOpen Virtual Pro Champion: @andy_murray! 🏆pic.twitter.com/vsCmwdoYol — ATP Tour (@atptour) April 30, 2020
A tournament statement said: “Due to technical problems with @dieschwartzman’s connection that prevented him from competing normally in his semi-final match, the players have agreed that @andy_murray should progress to the #MMOPEN Virtual Pro final.”
The charity initiative will donate 50,000 euros (£43,600) to the Madrid Food Bank to help reduce the social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Murray said on Instagram: “I’ll be donating half of the 45 thousand dollars prize money to the NHS and the other half to the tennis player relief fund.”
