Murray nets first Masters title

Four match points had just slipped away from Andy Murray. Frustration was starting to build. The nearly 100-degree temperatures on the court were getting to him, too.

Was he going to let a chance for his first Masters championship melt away like this?

Showing a newfound concentration, Britain's top player regained his bearings and took the set to another tiebreaker, Then, he took control with the best shot of the match, an in-the-corner winner that set up a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) victory over Novak Djokovic for the Cincinnati Masters title on Sunday in Mason, Ohio.

The 21-year-old Murray crouched in exultation when he finished it off, then swatted a ball into the stands and hunched over, trying to catch his breath before accepting the crystal trophy shaped like a shield.

"It's huge to win your first sort of major tournament, and to do it in a match like today makes it more special," Murray said. "I put in a lot of work off the court to be able to win these sorts of tournaments, and it makes it all worthwhile."

His breakthrough victory ended a $2.6 million ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters that will be remembered more for what it did to the world rankings.

Rafael Nadal lost to Djokovic in the semifinals, but nadal piled up enough rankings points during the week to finally wrest the No. 1 spot from Roger Federer in two weeks. Federer has led the rankings since Feb. 2, 2004, with Nadal right behind him for the last three years.

While the quest for No. 1 overshadowed the week, the world's third-ranked player had a week that's about as good as it gets - until he met Murray for the second time in two weeks.

Last week, Murray changed tactics and beat Djokovic in the quarterfinals at Toronto, his first career win in five matches against the 21-year-old Serb. Djokovic hadn't lost a set all week in Cincinnati, making for an interesting rematch.

Rogers Cup: After a week of tough matches, the final was a breeze for Dinara Safina.

The seventh seed from Russia easily handled unseeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in a 6-2, 6-1 victory at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal to win the Rogers Cup.

"I came onto the court thinking OK, it's not going to be an easy match," Safina said. "I would say I was more experienced in finals and it paid off.

"I hit some good shots and, in the crucial moments, she gave me some good mistakes - that I could say 'thank you' - and that helped me win in two sets."

It was a second win in a row for Safina, who beat Flavia Pannetta in the final in Los Angeles last week. With a win earlier this year in Berlin, it was the 22-year-old's third victory of the year and the eighth of her career.

Safina has reached the final in five of her last six tournaments, including the French Open in May where she lost to compatriot Maria Sharapova.

"It's just unbelievable - it's a first-time experience for me," she said. "Normally, if I win a tournament, the next week I'd always lose in the first round.

"When I won my first match, I thought OK, it's better than the previous times. Then I just took it one match at a time."

Safina's route to the final included wins over ninth-seeded Patty Schnyder and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova and then a three-set victory late Saturday night over 11th-seeded Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals.

She won $196,000 while Cibulkova earned $99,850 at the Tier-1 hardcourt event.