Murray defends St. Petersburg Open title; 8th career ATP title for the World No. 4

World No. 4 and top-seeded Scot Andy Murray (pictured) easily defended his St. Petersburg Open title on Sunday by smoothly defeating Kazakhstani qualifier Andrey Golubev, 6-1, 6-1, in 56 minutes. In the shortest singles final on the ATP Tour this season in terms of match time, Murray claimed his fifth title of the season while continuing his red-hot dominating tennis performances.

“I think he started the match a bit nervous and I was playing consistent from the baseline," said Murray. “I was the favorite and he didn't have anything to lose. The match was close in the beginning of both sets but once I was able to take the lead I felt more comfortable.”

Despite not hitting one ace during the match, Murray was able to win 27 of 31 first service points, while only having to hit 10 second serves throughout the match. Murray, who reached the US Open finals in September, broke Golubev five times this afternoon, while the Kazakhstani was unsuccessful breaking serve on his the two break point opportunities.

Murray, who has already clinched a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, improves to 53-14 on the year. His 53 victories this season puts him alongside Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko as the only players to have recorded at least 50 wins this year. Murray, the singles title winner in Doha and Marseille, as well as Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and Madrid, improves to 8-5 in finals during his young career.

The 21-year-old Golubev, who reached the main draw after winning three straight matches in the qualifying tournament, improves to 6-4 on the season. Starting the tournament off ranked No. 150 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Golubev will move up to a career high No. 112 on Monday when the rankings are released.

“I was playing well all week but today I was just off. I think I ran out of fuel,” said Golubev. “I felt very tired. This match was good for me to compare my game to the top players in the world. Murray didn't make any mistakes and was more stable during the entire match, especially on his serve. I'm still more happy than disappointed. Obviously I feel a bit frustrated not to play the way I wanted. But overall I'm very happy with the week.”

For his victory in St. Petersburg, Murray earned a winner’s check worth $171,000 and will immediately travel to Paris to play in this week’s BNP Paribas Masters. Seeded No. 4 and receiving a first round bye in Paris, Murray will face either Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or American Sam Querrey in the second round. With his magical run to the finals, Golubev earned a finalist check worth $92,400, which is the biggest payday in his young career.