Andy Murray celebrated his 29th birthday by beating Novak Djokovic on clay for the first time to win the Italian Open title Sunday in a match that Djokovic argued should have been stopped due to rain. Gaining a measure of revenge for his loss to Djokovic in the Madrid Open final a week ago, the third-ranked Murray defeated the top-ranked Djokovic 6-3, 6-3. During the trophy ceremony, Murray was presented with a birthday cake. It's Murray's first title in Rome and it comes exactly a week before the French Open begins. The only other British man to win the tournament was Pat Hughes in 1931. Djokovic had won all four of their previous matches on clay but had to fight fatigue following draining wins over Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori. Djokovic also played with a bandage on his left ankle after bruising himself with his racket a day earlier. For much of the final, steady rain fell and fans covered themselves with ponchos and held up umbrellas to keep themselves dry. Djokovic argued several times with chair umpire Damian Steiner over the court conditions, saying it was too slippery. "I don't want to play anymore," Djokovic told the umpire late in the second set. Murray, however, appeared to have no trouble and never dropped his serve, saving all three break points he faced, finishing the tournament without losing a set. Cornet upset Qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva rallied to upset ninth-seeded Alize Cornet 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the WTA tournament in Strasbourg Sunday. Fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic needed three sets to outlast Madison Brengle of the United States 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Also, Hsieh Su-wei defeated Xu Yi-fan 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the second round. Jil Belen Teichmann rallied to defeat Kurumi Nara 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, and Alison Riske also advanced by beating Alize Lim 6-0, 7-5. The outdoor clay-court event is a warm-up for the French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, which starts in a week.
