Novak Djokovic beats Murray in Madrid

Novak Djokovic claimed a record 29th Masters title  in Madrid today, and moved closer to logging  a record $100 million in prize money, since he turned professional.

He defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Madrid crown for a second time.

The world number one captured his fifth trophy of 2016 as he defeated defending champion Murray for the 12th time in their last last 13 matches to stand at an overwhelming 23-9 in their career head-to-head.

The Belgrade native won 912,900 euros ($1.04 million) and victory in Rome next week will make him the first man to win $100 million in prize money.

 Djokovic has defeated the world number two Scot in all four of their clay-court meetings as he added the 2016 Madrid trophy to the title he earned five years ago in the Spanish capital.

Murray saved a match point in the eighth game of the deciding set and another in the 13-minute ninth game while also seeing the Serb save seven break points.

The 28-year-old Djokovic has now won 33 of the past 35 sets against top 10 opponents — a stretch of 15 matches.

He’s also won five of the past six and 10 of the past 14 Masters titles.

Murray will fall to three in the world in the new rankings on Monday behind Roger Federer after failing to defend his title.

Djokovic, who has now gone past Rafael Nadal’s record of 28 Masters trophies, had to fight hard for a victory in just over two hours on Sunday against Murray, who appeared out of contention after losing the opening set in half an hour.

“I’ve been three years away from Madrid and I missed it,” said Djokovic, who last played the event in 2013.

Murray, who saved a first match point with a 10th ace and played his role in a dramatic final game, paid tribute to the rival who has dominated their career series since their first ever meeting in Madrid a decade ago.