Eight matches in 11 days on a previously unfavoured surface, a three-set duel that finished so late it prompted promises of an official review of scheduling on the ATP tour, and, to top it all, a virtually flawless performance against the best clay-court player in history. Not a conventional recipe for success, perhaps, but then Andy Murray, who defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Madrid Masters to claim his second clay-court title in as many weeks, has never been one to go by the book.
Although he turned his back on the British system at the age of 15 in order to hone his talents on the clay courts of Barcelona’s Sánchez-Casal academy, the Scot has rarely looked entirely at ease on the red stuff.