Andy Murray vs Philipp Kohlschreiber match report: Scot relents on lederhosen vow after winning first clay title

Andy Murray defeated Philpp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) after having to wait an extra day in Munich due to rain

Andy Murray is presented with a pair of lederhosen after beating Philipp Kohlschreiber (AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Andy Murray said at the start of the BMW Open in Munich that he would not be donning the lederhosen which are presented to the champion if he won the tournament, but when it came to it the world No 3 did not disappoint his hosts.

After beating Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 in the rain-delayed final to win his first clay-court title, Murray collected his winner’s cheque for €80,000 (£59,000) and the keys to a BMWi8 before putting on a pair of the traditional Bavarian shorts.

The 32nd title of Murray’s career was won the hard way. Kohlschreiber, who had kept the Scot on court for more than four and a half hours in a five-set marathon at last year’s French Open, again pushed his opponent hard. The world No 24, twice a champion in Munich, had led 3-2 in the first set when rain ended play for the day on Sunday evening and succumbed only after a gruelling contest that lasted more than three hours.

Having lost the first set on a tie-break, Kohlschreiber dug deep in the second, getting the better of three breaks of serve and eventually serving out to level the contest. The third set, like the first, did not feature any breaks, but Murray held firm in the deciding tie-break, which he won 7-4.

It was the first title Murray has won as a married man and his first working with Jonas Bjorkman, who joined his coaching entourage less than a fortnight ago and took charge of his preparations in Munich in the absence of Amélie Mauresmo. In his first clay-court final Murray also became the first British man to claim a title on the surface since Buster Mottram won in Palma 39 years ago.

“I didn’t realise I was the first Brit to win on clay for so long, so that’s obviously an honour,” Murray said. “It was a really tough match. He served very close to the line and I was getting frustrated. The rain made things really tough, but as a Scot I’m used to that. It’s been a hard couple of days, so I am very happy to have won, especially on clay.”

He added: “I had very few chances when I was returning. I was lucky to get a couple of good shots when I was behind in the tie-break and hang on in the end.”

The win will put Murray in good heart for the rest of the clay-court season, which reaches a climax with the French Open, which starts in 19 days’ time.

Before that Murray will play in this week’s Masters Series tournament in Madrid and next week’s event in Rome. He could meet Kohlschreiber again tomorrow in the second round in Madrid. Murray has a first-round bye, while Kohlschreiber faces Alejandro Falla in the first round today.

The Lawn Tennis Association announced yesterday that the winner of this summer’s Aegon Open women’s event in Nottingham will be presented with the Elena Baltacha Trophy in memory of the former British No 1, who died of liver cancer one year ago at the age of 30.