It was not the prettiest of the matches, but world No. 1 Novak Djokovic managed to claw his way to an impressive and historic fifth title at the Miami Open with a three set victory over world No. 3 Andy Murray.

The rollercoaster encounter had several twists and turns, as well as a slew of breaks that had the crowd confused as to who had a grip on the match. However, with the tide against him, Djokovic managed to scrape by to a third set, where he stormed to the 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-0.

“I’m trying to enjoy the moment and also utilise this time of my career where I’m probably playing the tennis of my life, and I’m feeling confident and physically fit,” he said. “I’m trying to use that. That’s what I’m thinking about right now… I am aware that this cannot go forever. There is going to be eventually a change of generations, some players that are going to start playing better and be stronger.”

Djokovic is now the first player to complete the Indian Wells-Miami Open double on three separate occasions, and extended his head-to-head record over Murray to 18-8 in the process.

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“I just have to try and keep working hard and see if there are a few things I can do differently, which might help,” Murray explained. “It’s tough, because it was obviously pretty brutal conditions out there. He was stronger than me at the end, for sure.”

The Serb took home $900,400 and 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points for his win, while earned $439,420.