Ferrer Reveals The Keys To Victory Over Zverev
Ferrer Reveals The Keys To Victory Over Zverev
Oct072016
World number two Andy Murray overcame fellow Briton Kyle Edmund 7-6 (11-9) 6-2 to make the China Open semi-finals.
Murray, 29, came through an even first set via a tie-break, but found himself a break down early in the second.
But Edmund, who will rise into the top 50 after beating Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut to make the least eight, then lost three straight service games to allow his compatriot through.
Murray will face Spain’s David Ferrer in the last four.
It was a heartening performance from Edmund, who hung tough with Murray in the first set despite failing to win a single point off the Scot’s first serve.
The 21-year-old Yorkshireman, who was ranked outside the top 100 in February, was edged out in the tie-break and then ran out of steam after a promising start to the second.
Murray has lost just once in 11 Tour level meetings with other Britons, going down in straight sets to Tim Henman in Bangkok in September 2006. He beat Edmund at the Aegon Championships quarter-finals at Queen’s earlier this year in their only previous meeting.
The other semi-final will see Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov play Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic of Canada.
Dimitrov ended the challenge of Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-4 victory.
It is the first time Dimitrov has beaten the 14-time Grand Slam champion and he is aiming to reach his third final of the year.
Raonic advanced after a 6-4 6-4 win over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.
#NextGen star blasts into SFs
#NextGen star Nick Kyrgios cruised past Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2016 on Friday. The Aussie cranked 18 aces and did not drop serve in the 70-minute win.
“I thought I played great today,” Kyrgios said. “I served well, returned well and my engagement level was really good the whole time.”
Kyrgios broke the left-handed Muller in the opening game of the set, then held comfortably to arrive at 5-4. Needing to break to extend the set, Muller mustered two break points but saw Kyrgios erase both with well-placed serves. The Aussie extended his lead with spectacular, creative shotmaking to lead 5-1 in the second set and sealed victory on his third match point.
“I love playing in Japan, even back when I was a junior,” Kyrgios said. “The crowd is always enthusiastic. They’re always clapping, making noise. It’s fun to play in front of them. You can tell they’re different.”
Kyrgios only lost four points when landing a first serve and has yet to be broken this week. He remains in contention for a third ATP World Tour title (Marseille and Atlanta). The big-serving Muller also came into the match having not dropped serve, but was broken three times (3/12) on Friday.
British number one Johanna Konta recovered from losing her first two service games to sweep to a 6-4 6-0 win over China’s world number 36 Zhang Shuai in the China Open quarter-finals.
The 25-year-old was 4-0 down in the opening set, but won the final 12 games to deflate Zhang in front of her home fans.
Konta also recorded a straight-set win over Zhang at the Wuhan Open last week.
She will play American eighth seed Madison Keys in the semi-finals.
More to follow.
8 Classic Matches. 1 Golden Moment. You Pick The Winner.
From Nikolay Davydenko’s semi-final win over Novak Djokovic in 2009 to Roger Federer’s “greatest escape” in 2014, we’ve selected eight Classic Moments from the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Now, we need your help to crown the Golden Moment from this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
Watch & Vote
Watch the clips and vote for your favourite of each match-up. Round 1, which runs from now through 8pm ET Monday, October 10, features four head-to-head battles:
Davydenko Denies Djokovic (2009) vs Nishikori Overcomes Tsonga (2011)
Djokovic’s Thriller Vs DelPo (2013) vs Tsonga Takes Down Nadal (2015)
Murray Dominates Federer (2010) vs Ferrer Fights Past Roddick (2011)
Federer’s Great Escape (2014) vs Federer Halts Djokovic (2014)
Ensure your favourites advance to the semi-finals. Watch & Vote Now!
Reigning NCAA champion enjoys another solid week in Stockton
Some players struggle to find real world success straight out of college, but that hasn’t been the case for reigning NCAA champion Mackenzie McDonald.
Since turning pro in June after completing his junior year at UCLA, the 21-year-old American has found his footing on the ATP Challenger Tour and is now producing big results in his home state of California. McDonald reached the semi-finals last week at the $100,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Tiburon, matching his result there last year.
At this week’s $100,000 Challenger in Stockton, McDonald ousted second seed and fellow American Tim Smyczek in the second round, an identical result to the win he produced at last year’s $100,000 Challenger in Sacramento. He’s quickly learned that unlike his college days, he can’t get away with playing a loose point or service game to beat the world’s best players.
“Tennis is really an errors game and the guys make less mistakes at this level than in college or ITF Futures,” said McDonald. “They have a couple of more weapons to help them win free points, so you have to be on for every match.”
College players have been enjoying success this year on the ATP Challenger Tour, with the most recent example being Ohio State University player Mikael Torpegaard winning his first Challenger title last month on his home campus in Columbus, Ohio. Although McDonald said he now faces tougher competition in the pros, he believes his time at UCLA brought him to a place where he can succeed at this level.
“I played a lot of matches and had a lot of wins, which builds confidence,” he said last August. “It was a good stepping stone of playing at a level that’s higher than the juniors, but that also allowed me to get ready for the pros.”
But now that McDonald is able to treat tennis like a job, he’s finding it far easier to shore up the holes in his game while also building on his strengths. With no Emirates ATP Ranking points to defend in the first half of next year, it’s a safe bet that he’ll be making a significant dent on his current standing of No. 374.
“I have way more time on my hands to focus on tennis,” said McDonald. “Before I was taking classes, being social, being with the team. I think I’m improving a lot more quickly now and just really enjoying it.”