Andy Murray lifted his second title of the year and fifth of his career as he outgunned Mario Ancic, of Croatia, 6-3, 6-4 to win the Open 13. Having missed Britain’s Davis Cup tie in Argentina because he did not want to risk further injury to a troublesome knee condition, Murray’s victory was the perfect answer to his critics.

“It was a very high standard,” Murray, who will return to the world’s top ten when the rankings are released today, said. “I hit some really important shots on the big points, especially at the end of that first set. It was a really long game and I think I had five or six game points and he had four or five break points.

“I think even though he broke me early in the second, that game was really important mentally because if he’d got back into it, maybe won the set, it would have been tough for me, but I stuck with it. I served really well on the big points and did a really good job of serving it out at the end.”

Jamie Murray made it a perfect day in the Murray household by picking up his first title with Max Mirnyi, of Belarus, at the Delray Beach International in Florida. The new partnership claimed a surprise 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 victory over Bob and Mike Bryan, the No 1 seeds.

Ancic, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, had surprised even himself with the quality of his tennis throughout the week after a year of illness and injury in which his ranking dropped to 135. He went into the final having not dropped his serve but Murray is a different animal when it comes to the return of serve.

The Croat was under pressure on serve almost immediately, saving four break points in the sixth game as Murray got into his groove from the first point. Ancic netted a simple backhand volley that would have put him ahead 4-3 and the pressure had to tell eventually. The break came in the eighth game, handing Murray the chance to serve out the set.

Ancic, though, is far from a serve-and-volley bully and the ninth game was a mini-classic. It lasted 22 points, with Ancic forcing five break points and Murray missing four set points before finally he clinched the set with his fifth ace. The effort that Ancic was having to make to keep up with Murray in the baseline rallies appeared to be taking its toll on the Croat, but Murray lost his concentration and dropped his serve to trail 3-1.

True to form, he broke back immediately and, after saving a break point to make it 3-3, he broke the Ancic serve for a third time. On this occasion, it was decisive.

Vindication, Murray intimated, was perhaps not the right word to describe his feelings after the win, but the controversy over his decision not to go to Buenos Aires proved a motivational factor. “I knew it was the right decision,” he said. “It was more that I won the tournament last year [in San Jose, the points from which will come off the computer today], which is where I thought the pressure was coming from, not anything to do with the Argentina thing. Maybe it was more of a motivation rather than putting pressure on myself.

“For me, the ranking to look at this year is the Race, not the ATP entry rankings because I did miss 3½ months of last year. I think if I play like I did [today] I am going to win matches and the points will take care of themselves. I missed a couple of grand slams last year and also a couple of Masters Series and when I came back I wasn’t really ready, so regardless of the next few months, I need to focus on the Race because my ranking could go [up and down]. Hopefully, once I stop having to defend points I’ll start moving up.”

Ancic said that he was just delighted to be healthy and playing well again. “I think it was a brilliant match,” he said. “Andy showed why he’s one of the best on the tour.”

Murray now goes on to the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam, beginning today, where he is drawn to face Robin Haase, a Dutch wild card.

Impressive numbers

22 Points in the crucial ninth game, which gave Murray the set

3 Times Ancic lost his serve all week, all to Murray

4 Indoor titles for Murray

44 Aces served by Murray in the week

200 Ranking points earned by Murray for the victory