Karatsev Sinks Murray In Zhuhai, Norrie Seals QF Spot

Aslan Karatsev overcame former World No. 1 Andy Murray once again on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals at the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships.

The 30-year-old defeated Murray in the Sydney final in their only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in January 2022 and ensured he maintained his 100% record against the Scot with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory at the Chinese ATP 250 hard-court event.

Karatsev was aggressive off both wings throughout the two-hour and 54-minute clash. Murray offered up an increasing number of short balls as the match went on, with Karatsev hitting through the 36-year-old to seal his sixth Top 50 win of the year.

The World No. 63, who is chasing his first tour-level title since Sydney in 2022, will next face second seed Cameron Norrie in his third quarter-final of the year.

Murray was aiming to reach his second tour-level quarter-final of the year after advancing to the final in Doha in February. The Scot has lifted five titles on Chinese soil, including three Shanghai crowns.

Norrie defeated Australian qualifier Marc Polmans 6-0, 6-3 in 76 minutes. The British lefty won 90 per cent (26/29) of his first-serve points and did not face a break point en route to victory. The World No. 17 is seeking his second title of the season this week, having triumphed in Rio.

Norrie is currently 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He will need a strong Asian Swing to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.

In other action, Sebastian Korda improved to 13-2 against Frenchmen when he defeated Alexander Muller 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 to reach his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

The American is aiming to win his first title of the season this week at the Chinese ATP 250 event, having fallen in the final to Novak Djokovic in Adelaide at the start of the year. The fourth seed will next play Tomas Martin Etcheverry after the Argentine defeated #NextGenATP Czech Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3.