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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:06 a.m., Sunday, October 26, 2008

Tennis: Murray retains St. Petersburg Open title

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Britain's Andy Murray returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev during their final tennis match Sunday at the St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia.

DMITRY LOVETSKY | Associated Press

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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Top-seeded Andy Murray won the St. Petersburg Open title for the second straight year by beating qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-1, 6-1 Sunday.

Murray, who also won at the Madrid Masters last Sunday, became the first British player to win back-to-back tour-level titles since Mark Cox won in London and Washington in March 1975.

Murray has not dropped a set on the way to his fifth title this season and his eighth career win.

It was the twelfth consecutive win for the fourth-ranked Murray, including two victories in Britain's Davis Cup World Group playoffs against Austria in September. He is 53-14 so far this season, making him the fourth player to win more than 50 matches.

Murray also won titles in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati. His only loss in the finals this season was to Roger Federer at the U.S. Open.