Andy Murray has achieved one of his biggest victories since undergoing hip surgery in 2019 by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Boss Open semifinals.
Murray, currently 68th in the world, defeated the first Greek favorite 7-6 (4) 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes and will play Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals in Stuttgart.
This is the first time Murray has won a top-ranked player in the world since 2016. The 35-year-old Scot saved a seven-point lead 6-6 in the first game before sealing him in a tie-break. and broke Tsitsipas to move. 4-2 in the second on their way to an impressive victory in their third game point.
Tsitsipas, the world number 5, saved a breaking point in the seventh game when the first set went into service and failed to convert one of his with the 6-6 when Murray forced a tie-break. The Scot, who defeated seventh seed Alexander Bublik to reach the round of 16 of his first ATP Tour event of the season on grass, then got a mini-break to go up 5-3 and served to seal. the 7-4 in little less. one hour.
Tsitsipas saved two game points in his serve with a 5-2 loss in the second set, but Murray served for the game. Murray’s only previous encounter with Tsitsipas was in the first round of the U.S. Open last year, when he led by two sets to only one to lose by five.
Murray said in his interview on the court, “It was an amazing atmosphere. Almost crowded. Good weather today, very good conditions for playing tennis. I thought I did well. It served incredibly well in the first set.
“I felt like I had very few chances, but when he was creating chances in my service, I stayed strong. I made a very solid tie-break and in the second set, once in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating a lot of points. It was a good performance. “
Dart’s career in Nottingham ended with Riske
Harriet Dart’s bet to reach her first WTA Tour semi-final ended in a loss to Alison Riske at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham. The No. 3 Briton took the first set, but her American rival bounced back and won 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 26 minutes.
Harriet Dart won the first set against Alison Riske, but was denied due to the American’s fight. Photo: Will Palmer / SWpix.com / Shutterstock
Dart broke in the sixth game of the first set to go back 4-2, but responded with two own breaks to take the first set in just over an hour. The sixth seed returned to hit in the second set, breaking Dart three times on his way to a 6-2 lead.
Dart held the service to advance 1-0 in the decisive decision, but fell after that, broken three more times when Riske went through the next six games to reach his sixth semifinal of his turf race. He will then face Ajla Tomljanovic or Viktorija Golubic.
Series leader Maria Sakkari lost to seventh seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The Brazilian will face the Czech Tereza Martincova in the semifinals after defeating the fourth Chinese seed, Zhang Shuai, in sets followed by 6-3 and 6-2.
In the men’s ATP Challenger event, Liam Broady missed the opportunity to reach the last four after losing in three sets to Jack Sock by 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-4. Ryan Peniston of Essex, the No. 7 Briton, saw his career end in a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Australian Alexei Popyrin in the first quarter-finals on Friday.