Murray reaches first semis since 2017
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2019 07:35:15 +0000
ANTWERP, Belgium (AFP) – Former world No. 1 Andy Murray reached his first semi-inal since the 2017 French Open with a battling three-set win over Romania’s Marius Copil in Antwerp on Friday.
The 32-year-old British star, steadily rebuilding his career after major hip surgery earlier this year, defeated qualifier Copil, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4.
ANDY Murray
“I feel OK, it’s more how you pull up the following day,” said Murray, who is two wins away from a first title since Dubai in March 2017.
“The good thing about the indoor matches is that the points are fairly short so it doesn’t take as much out of you as on some of the slower courts outside.”
Murray, now ranked a lowly 243 in the world, had the chance to wrap up the quarterfinal when he had a match point in the second set tiebreak.
He eventually sealed victory after more than two and a half hours on court with an ace for his third win in three meetings against the 92nd-ranked Copil.
Murray goes on to face France’s world number 70 Ugo Humbert who put out Argentine fifth seed Guido Pella, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner became the youngest ATP semi-finalist in five years when he defeated Frances Tiafoe of the United States, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Sinner, 18, is the youngest to make the last four on tour since 17-year-old Borna Coric at Basel in 2014.
”I think I played good today once more. It was not easy in the end. I was shaking a little bit,” said Sinner, the world number 119.