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Last year at the Citi Open, Andy Murray visibly broke down into tears after defeating Marius Copil in a match that ended past 3 am in Washington, D.C. Those emotions didn't just come because he won, but because the Scot had underwent hip surgery earlier in the year and was struggling through the pain during his comeback.

Little did he know that more than 14 months and another hip surgery later, he would be in tears after a match again. This time, it was after defeating Stan Wawrinka in Antwerp to win the European Open, the first title of his singles comeback.

“I don’t know why you get emotional about certain things or the reason for why it comes. Everyone is different,” Murray said. “It was because the past few years have been hard for me and tennis is something that I love doing and today was unexpected and yeah, there’s lots of reasons for me to be emotional today.”

Before Antwerp, Murray competed in three tournaments in Asia — Zhuhai, Beijing and Shanghai — and ahead of the trip the Scot spoke with his team to discuss goals for what he wanted to achieve.

“I just want to try and be competitive. I want to feel like when I’m on the court I’m not getting smashed, that I’m making it difficult for them and competing as best I could,” Murray told his team.

“I wasn’t thinking I’m going to win tournaments or I’m going to be beating guys like Stan and Berrettini and pushing guys like Fognini close. I just wanted to feel like I was competitive. This has come as a surprise to me and my team.”

Murray did not win a set in his first two tour-level matches back on the singles court in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem. When he arrived in Antwerp, he had not made a quarter-final at any level in six attempts. So although the 32-year-old carried 45 tour-level titles into Sunday’s clash with Wawrinka, it was still uncharted territory.

“I was nervous before the match today for sure. Yesterday, not so much. But before the match I was pretty nervous and I didn’t feel prepared really to win… because I wasn’t expecting it,” Murray said. “When I was out there, I wasn’t ahead at all until right at the end. Had I had a lead maybe I would have found it more difficult but because I was always playing from behind the whole time, I got that break right at the end… I di

Read more: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/murray-antwerp-2019-final-reaction

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house at the European Open in Antwerp as Andy Murray completed a remarkable comeback from hip surgery by defeating Stan Wawrinka in Sunday’s final. The win gave the Brit his first ATP Tour title since 2017 Dubai.

The outpouring of love was also evident on social media, where everyone from Feliciano Lopez to James Corden sung their praises for Murray. ATPTour.com looks at some of the best tweets about this unforgettable moment.

Andy ******* Murray!!!!

Cheers. @andy_murray #antwerp pic.twitter.com/Q7VVDipxiQ

@andy_murray it’s always been a pleasure sharing a court with you, great to have you back & congrats on a strong tournament!
Antwerp thank you for your love & support, and for a special day on court today!🥈🙏🏻🇧🇪🖤💛❤️
#Antwerp #Final #BackToWork #TrustTheProcess #Belgium #Love pic.twitter.com/sDZ2b4ICP0

What can i say @andy_murray ?🤷🏻‍♂️
Makes me so happy to see you succeed..insane what you’ve done this week after everything u went through..truly inspiring ❤️will have 🍷 tonight to celebrate with you from a distance. 🎩 off Sir Andy

What Andy Murray has just done is incredible. To win in Antwerp like he has just done shows such unbelievable resilience and commitment. Amazing achievement

‘It ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!’ - Rocky Balboa.
Congrats @andy_murray on one of the all-time great sporting comebacks. 👏👏👏👊 pic.twitter.com/bB5hUTwMWs

The Comeback King. Well done @andy_murray 👏👏👏 https://t.co/WqdyVMhp9Z

CRYING! @andy_murray

Read more: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/murray-antwerp-2019-social-media-reacts

Denis Shapovalov arrived at the Intrum Stockholm Open with an 0-7 record in ATP Tour semi-finals. But after clearing that hurdle on Saturday with a win over Japanese Yuichi Sugita, he only needed one try to clinch his first ATP Tour title as he defeated Serbian Filip Krajinovic in Sunday’s final. The #NextGenATP Canadian is the 15th first-time winner on the ATP Tour this season.

First-Time ATP Tour Champions In 2019

ATPTour.com caught up with Shapovalov after the match to talk to him about his triumph.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It means a lot to me. My team and I have put in a lot of work over the years and it’s been a pretty big goal of ours to try and lift the title. I’m just super proud of me and my team.

After breaking through with your first ATP Tour final on Saturday, did it feel like a weight had been lifted?
I don’t know about that. I had some bad luck in the other semi-finals and some tough draws, but I knew that I’d win one e

Read more: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/shapovalov-first-time-winner-spotlight-stockholm-2019

Entering this year’s New York Open, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies had mostly competed on the ATP Challenger Tour, only playing three tour-level events together before that week. But the Germans won that title and they have not looked back since.

Top seeds Krawietz and Mies captured their third title of the season on Sunday in Antwerp, defeating second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(1), 6-3 in one hour and 14 minutes to triumph at the European Open.

“We enjoyed it a lot all week. The tournament was really nice, very well organised... We had a lot of fun this week,” Mies said. “We had a good time.”

The Germans, who won Roland Garros this year, surge into third place in the ATP Doubles Race To London thanks to their Antwerp victory. Krawietz and Mies are trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, and they saved the only break point they faced against Ram and Salisbury in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

“The Belgians were really loud, actually. We had a great atmosphere. It really helps for the doubles when you have Stan Wawrinka against Andy Murray in the final coming up after our match,” Mies said. “It was pretty packed and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was unbelievable, and we played one of our best matches this year.”

Krawietz and Mies earn 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points each and a share of €35,960 for their efforts. They did not drop a set at this ATP 250 event.

“Lovely tournament. A lot of people came for the doubles final, also for the rounds before. The crowd was huge yesterday,” Krawietz said. “[We] enjoyed the game and enjoyed the tournament.”

Ram and Salisbury, who are also in Nitto ATP Finals contention, could have surpassed Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau for sixth place in the Race if they defeated the Germans. Instead, the American-British pair add 150 points to their tallies and split €18,430.

Read more: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/antwerp-2019-doubles-final

It was a case of déjà vu on Sunday at the VTB Kremlin Cup. A Russian dominated seventh-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to take the title in Moscow for the second year in a row, but this time it was sixth seed Andrey Rublev who cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 victory on his 21st birthday.

Rublev hadn't won a match in Moscow in six previous attempts, but took his second ATP Tour title and became the ninth Russian to prevail at this event. He's won 19 of his past 25 matches and will crack the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings for the first time when the newest standings are released on Monday.

Read more: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/rublev-mannarino-moscow-2019-final

Early on in Sunday’s European Open final, it appeared that Andy Murray’s dream week would fall just short of a perfect ending. Former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka was playing aggressive tennis from on top of the baseline, and Murray struggled to find an answer on his fourth consecutive day of singles action after three-setters in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

But the Scot showed his trademark grit — which once helped him climb to the top of the ATP Rankings — to rally past Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, triumphing in Antwerp to lift his first ATP Tour trophy since undergoing career-threatening hip surgery in January.

"It means a lot. The past few years have been extremely difficult. Both me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems in the past couple of years. Amazing to be back playing against him in a final like that. I think it was a great match," Murray said on court after his victory. "I didn't expect to be in this position at all, so I'm very happy."

This is Murray’s first title since 2017 Dubai, when he was the World No. 1. In the first six tournaments — at all levels — of his singles comeback, which started in Cincinnati this August, the Scot never advanced past the quarter-finals. But World No. 243 Murray improved as this ATP 250 event wore on to become the lowest-ranked ATP Tour champion since No. 355 Pablo Andujar in Marrakech last year.

With Wawrinka searching for his first title since undergoing two left knee surgeries in August 2017, both players showed that they are well on the way back to their best with captivating all-court play that thrilled the Belgian fans. But it was Murray who took a 12-8 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series after triumphing in two hours and 27 minutes.

"Stan is a brilliant player. He's won many, many big tournaments. He always plays extremely well in the big matches," Murray said. "We know each other's games well. We played many tough matches in the past. I expected another one today and that was what I got."

Wawrinka broke serve immediately, pummelling a backhand passing shot so hard that Murray could not lift his racquet in time. And while the Scot earned two break opportunities at 0-2 to recover that break, Wawrinka maintained his lead. The Swiss’ powerful game pushed Murray well behind the baseline and kept the Scot from winning too many quick points, turning this into a physical encounter from the get-go.

Read more: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/murray-wawrinka-antwerp-2019-final