Andy Murray battles into China Open last eight

BEIJING – Andy Murray won two ATP Tour singles matches in a row for the first time since major hip surgery to battle into the China Open quarterfinals on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).

The former world number one outlasted fellow Briton Cameron Norrie 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (4/7), 6-1 over nearly three gruelling hours and will play top seed Dominic Thiem or Chinese wildcard Zhang Zhizhen next.

The 32-year-old Murray, now ranked a lowly 503, is stepping up his comeback from a career-saving operation in January — and was at his vintage fighting best here.


On Tuesday, in hot and hazy Beijing, he defeated US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini for his biggest scalp since his return to singles tennis in mid-August.

The three-time Grand Slam winner says he no longer has pain in his hip and it is a matter now of building up fitness so he can play several matches in a row at tournaments.

source: philstar.com

Murray edges Edmund at Citi Open; Zverev brothers to meet

WASHINGTON — Andy Murray is showing signs of returning to his old form, right down to the return winner he delivered on the last point of his first victory over a top-20 player in more than a year.

Murray took a more aggressive approach as he works his way back from hip surgery and moved into the third round at the Citi Open by beating No. 4 seed Kyle Edmund 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4 on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).

Murray is a three-time major champion and former No. 1 who was sidelined for 11 months because of his right hip. He missed the second half of 2017, had an operation in January, then returned to the tour briefly in June. One of his three matches that month was a loss on a grass court to Edmund, the Australian Open semifinalist who has supplanted Murray as Britain’s highest-ranked man.

When they played last time, Murray, said, “Any time Kyle was dictating the points, I wasn’t tracking enough balls down. I felt a bit slow to the balls. Today, I was able to defend and dig up a few more shots and that made a big difference.”

There is still work to be done by Murray, of course. He is ranked 832nd, has played only five matches in 12 months, and needed three sets for each of his victories in Washington’s hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open.

Unlike in his opening match Monday, when he felt he was too defensive, Murray made a point of attacking more against Edmund.

“Regardless of the result, we wanted to at least be dictating more points, trying to use my forehand, be close to the baseline,” he said. “And I think I did that, especially in some of the important moments in the third set.”

He got the measure of Edmund’s serves late, earning two break points at 4-3. Another arrived at 5-4, thanks to a defensive lob that drew a long overhead from Edmund, followed by a double-fault. That brought match point, and Murray pounded a cross-court backhand winner off an 83 mph second serve, then let out a loud yell.

Also moving into the third round was No. 1 seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev, and his next matchup is a rare one: On Thursday, he’ll face his older brother, No. 15 seed Mischa. It’s their first meeting in an ATP main-draw match.

“It’s a special day, because not a lot of families can say two brothers played against each other on a such a high level, in one of the biggest tournaments in the world,” said Alexander, who finished off a rain-interrupted 6-2, 6-1 win against Malek Jaziri. “Obviously, we both want to win. We won’t give each other anything.”

The German siblings, who were taught tennis by their father, paired up Wednesday night as a doubles team.

Seeded players exiting the draw included No. 5 Nick Kyrgios, who withdrew with a hip injury, along with No. 12 Karen Khachanov and No. 14 Jeremy Chardy, who both lost. No. 9 Denis Shapovalov defeated Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; and No. 10 Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Jared Donaldson 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

In the women’s field, reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens continued her tendency for all-or-nothing showings at tournaments, losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round to 91st-ranked Andrea Petkovic.

Stephens was seeded No. 2 at a tournament she won in 2015 for her first WTA title. Now she’ll want to get her game going in the right direction before she begins the defense of her first Grand Slam title on Aug. 27.

“Hopefully,” Stephens said, “some things connect in the next couple of weeks.”

Her best results this season were a runner-up finish at the French Open and a title at the Miami Open. But take away those tournaments, and the American is 10-11 in 2018, including first-round exits at Wimbledon last month and the Australian Open in January.

Against Petkovic, Stephens put only 59 percent of her first serves in play and was broken four times.

Stephens’ loss leaves the Citi Open women’s draw without either of its top two seeds; No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki withdrew Tuesday because of a leg injury.

source: philstar.com

So much is different for Andy Murray at Wimbledon this time

LONDON — Everything’s changed for Andy Murray at Wimbledon this time.

A two-time champion at the All England Club, he’s not really considered a serious title contender — by himself or by anyone else, for that matter.

He is not as prepared as usual as the grass-court Grand Slam tournament’s Monday start approaches, having played a total of three matches all year after recently returning from hip surgery.


He is not seeded, because his ranking is outside the top 150.

Murray is, however, thrilled to be playing, provided nothing crops up before he’s scheduled to face Benoit Paire of France in the first round Tuesday.

“I always want to be here competing. It feels a little bit odd coming into the tournament this year,” Murray said Saturday after practicing at the All England Club. “Normally, like, at this stage, I feel really nervous, lots of pressure, and I expect a lot of myself around this time of year. I’ve always loved that and enjoyed that in a way. It has been difficult, but enjoyed it. Whereas this year, it feels very, very different.”

The first British man in 77 years to win a Wimbledon singles title when he did so in 2013, before adding another in 2016, Murray lost in the quarterfinals in 2017 to Sam Querrey, clearly hampered by his hip. Murray wound up not playing another match last season, then had his operation in January.

Nearly 12 full months had passed by the time he ventured back into competition at the Queen’s Club grass-court event less than two weeks ago. Still with a hitch in his gait, Murray played more than 2½ hours before losing to Nick Kyrgios in three sets.

This week, again on grass, Murray beat fellow three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, before losing to countryman Kyle Edmund.
“I’m pumped obviously because, I mean, four or five weeks ago, I didn’t know whether I’d be capable of competing at a level I’d be happy with. I think the last couple of weeks has been beneficial,” said Murray, a two-time Olympic singles gold medalist whose first Grand Slam championship came at the 2012 U.S. Open. “I don’t think I played amazing in the matches, but I think I’ve done well, considering the opponents.”

Now comes Paire, a former member of the top 20 who is currently ranked 48th.

Murray has won both of their two previous matchups, including in the fourth round at Wimbledon a year ago.

“He’s a tricky guy to play against, because of his style,” Murray said. “He does hit a lot of drop shots, he serve-volleys. He’s unorthodox with his shot selection and stuff. He can be quite up and down, too, at times.”

Get past that test, and Murray could face No. 26 Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the second round.

Asked to assess how deep he might be able to go in the draw, Murray rested his chin on his right hand and exhaled.

“I don’t know. Because how am I supposed to tell you how I’m going to feel if I play for four hours in the first match? I can’t answer that question honestly,” he said. “In terms of how I would fare, how I would do in the tournament, results-wise, I have no idea.”

Murray is accustomed to experiencing so much pressure and attention during this fortnight.

That should ease, theoretically at least. Any fair assessment would conclude that Murray’s streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals at the past 10 Wimbledons is in jeopardy.

There are other owners of multiple titles at the tournament known simply as The Championships who will be hounded about their prospects: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal among the men; Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova among the women. (Williams was slated to hold a news conference Saturday, but it was moved at the last minute to Sunday because of what was described as a scheduling conflict.)

For the first time in a dozen years, Murray is not Britain’s highest-ranked male tennis player.

That honor — burden? — belongs to Kyle Edmund, who is seeded 21st at Wimbledon and reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open.

“Andy being here is obviously great from a tennis fan point of view,” Edmund said. “But also being British, having a bit of a personal relationship with him, it’s good to see him back after pretty much a year out.”

source: philstar.com

‘Hardest few points of my life,’ says Andy Murray of dramatic finish at Wimbledon

LONDON – Andy Murray described the dramatic conclusion to his historic Wimbledon triumph as the hardest points he had ever played.

Murray ended Britain’s agonising 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over world number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

The 26-year-old, who lost in a tearful Wimbledon final against Roger Federer last year, became the country’s first male winner since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray squandered three matches points before finally taking the title at the fourth attempt.

And the world number two, whose only other major crown came at the US Open last year, admitted the pressure of closing out the win was almost unbearable.

“Probably the hardest few points I’ve ever had to play in my life,” Murray said.

“I have played Novak many times and when everyone finishes playing, he will go down as one of the fighters.

“He did the same today and that is what made it tough. I understand how much everyone wanted to see a British winner at Wimbledon and I hope everyone enjoyed it.”

Murray clambered into the players’ box to hug his girlfriend Kim Sears, coach Ivan Lendl and the rest of his support team.

But he almost forgot his mother Judy, who was sitting just behind the box, before returning to give her a joyous embrace.

“I did forget Mum, but then I did remember,” he added.

“My team have stuck by me through some tough moments. This one is for Ivan (Lendl, his coach) as well, I know he did everything to try to win this one when he was playing. He’s fantastic, he’s been patient and I thank him.”

Murray’s mother admitted she could barely remember how Murray actually won the final game because she had been reduced to a nervous wreck by that point.

“I was an emotional wreck but now it is the best feeling ever to watch your son win Wimbledon,” she said. “I can’t remember what happened in the last game but he was gutsy and determined to win that trophy today.

“I have been shaking for about three hours now. I have been around tennis for many years, you can never sit back and relax and think it is in the bag.

“The minute you start thinking too far ahead, it is dangerous. Never count your chickens, just be as supportive as you can be but he got through in the end.”

Djokovic, who lost in straight sets at a Grand Slam for the first time since the semi-finals at Wimbledon three years ago, praised Murray.

“It wasn’t easy. Andy deserves the win, he played incredible tennis. Congratulations to him and his whole team and the country, I know what it means to you all,” said the Serb.

“It makes the success even bigger as I am aware of the pressure he gets. There are always lots of expectations on him to win this tournament. It’s a great achievement.”

Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman was delighted to see his compatriot and close friend finally end Britain’s long wait for an All England Club champion.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. It was the sheer will, that ability to find a way to get the job done when Djokovic would not go away,” he told BBC Sport.

“He was serving for history, 40-0 up and Djokovic saved three match points.

“It’s an unbelievable achievement for him and one we’re all incredibly proud of. He always in his heart of hearts believed he could win the tournament.

“He had the huge disappointment of losing the final 12 months ago but knew he could do it.”

Boris Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion, saluted Murray’s will to win.

“It is reality now, and for where he’s come from and what he’s gone through, it’s an incredible performance,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com