Andy Murray extends title streak to three with Vienna victory

Andy Murray won his third consecutive tournament on Sunday when he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the championship match of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria.

Murray, who is taking aim at Novak Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking, already had won in Beijing and Shanghai earlier this month. The Scot can ascend to the top if he wins next week in Paris and Djokovic does not reach the final. If Djokovic reaches the final, he'll remain No. 1.

Murray defeated Tsonga for the 14th time in 16 tries and remains entrenched as the world's No. 2 player for a 76th week.

Against Tsonga, Murray dominated from the baseline and patiently waited for the Frenchman to make an error. The strategy paid off. Tsonga had 45 unforced errors.

Tsonga was more efficient at the net, winning 28 of 36 points.

Tsonga paid for being aggressive in the first set and continued the same tactic in the second with a little more success. He had Murray on the run and broke the 29-year-old for 4-all. Murray held at 5-6 and forced a tiebreak, but he didn't wilt and aced Tsonga out wide to clinch the title.

Murray's win streak now stands at 14.

Tsonga was appearing in his first ATP World Tour final since September 2015.