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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2015: Andy Murray wins first trophy of the year without hitting a ball

Novak Djokovic was forced to pull out of the final in Abu Dhabi after falling ill despite Murray struggling with a shoulder injury of his own

Agency
Saturday 03 January 2015 15:28 GMT
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Andy Murray saw off Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals
Andy Murray saw off Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals

Andy Murray picked up his first trophy of the season without having to play a match after Novak Djokovic withdrew ahead of their final in Abu Dhabi because of illness.

The world number one had looked in fine nick in brushing aside Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals of the exhibition Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Friday.

But the defending champion revealed on Saturday he has been suffering from a fever and handed the title to Murray.

Djokovic's withdrawal denied the Scot the chance to follow his thrashing of Rafael Nadal in the last four with another confidence-boosting win over one of his biggest rivals.

But it may also prove to be a blessing for Murray, who felt pain in his left shoulder during his 6-2 6-0 win over Nadal.

Speaking to reporters at the tournament, the 27-year-old said: "I don't know exactly what happened. I've never had anything happen to my left shoulder before.

"It's pretty sore and at the end of the match when I was reaching out to sign autographs it was quite painful.

"I'm going to have an ultrasound scan to check and see if there's anything there or not then I'll see what happens after that."

Djokovic beat Wawrinka on Friday before suffering illness

Provided the scan does not show anything untoward, Murray will continue his build-up to the Australian Open at the Hopman Cup in Perth next week.

Murray will join Heather Watson to represent Great Britain at the mixed team event, with their opening match due to be against France on Monday.

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