Tennis: Andy Murray was delighted to become the first British player to win two ATP Masters Series titles following Sunday's success in Madrid - but insists he is not close to hitting the heights achieved by Tim Henman.
Murray's 6-4 7-6 (8/6) victory over unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon earned the Scot his fourth singles title of the year and second in successive Masters Series tournaments following his win in Cincinnati.
Henman and Greg Rusedski failed to do that during their lengthy careers - both won one each in Paris - and Murray acknowledged being the first Brit to achieve it is an extra boost for him.
"It's great to make a little bit of history," said Murray.
"This was huge for me. Although Tim and Greg have achieved a lot more than I have over a long period in tennis, I've done something that neither of them were able to do."
Aside from taking his tally of career singles titles to seven, 21-year-old Murray also reached his first grand slam final this season at the US Open, where he broke into the top four in the world rankings.
Henman also made it to number four in the world, while he claimed 11 singles titles and finished runner-up in 17 other tournaments.
Rusedski was another British player to hit fourth place in the rankings, as well as winning 15 singles titles and reaching the US Open final in 1997.
When asked if he thought he was the best British player since Fred Perry, Murray said: "No, Tim was definitely much, much better than me. Over eight or nine years he was in the top 10, always playing well in Wimbledon, making the semi-finals in all the grand slams (except the Australian Open).
"I've only passed the semis once, I still have a long way to achieve what he did."
He added: "Tim was obviously a great player for eight, nine years, that's how tough it is to win a Masters Series, and the ones that I have won, it's not like I've beaten bad players.
"I've beaten (Roger) Federer and Novak (Djokovic) in the last two that I've won, and Djokovic in the one before that when I lost in the semis, so I'm having to beat really good players to do it consistently."
Murray's success in Madrid is even more impressive considering the British number one admitted prior to the tournament he was more focused on getting some matches under his belt than results.
The Scot nevertheless dropped only one set - against Federer in the semi-finals - during his run to the title, and he can take great confidence from his performances in the Spanish capital as he continues building towards the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
"I didn't expect to win the tournament, like I said," added Murray, who had not played a competitive match since last month's Davis Cup prior to arriving in Madrid.
"I was playing really well in practice beforehand. The thing that's difficult for me is that I had played just one or two matches in five weeks.
"Although I was hitting the ball well in practice, it's always difficult in the matches. Obviously, I started great and that gave me some confidence."
Murray travels to Russia now to defend his title at the St Petersburg Open before the season concludes with the Paris Masters and the Masters Cup - for which he has already qualified.
-PA