Murray flew directly from Brazil to Cincinnati to contest the Western & Southern Open, which he won in 2008 and then 2011.
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“Obviously today it didn’t go how I would’ve wanted, but I certainly didn’t expect to get to the final when I arrived here”, said Murray. “That’s helped keep the matches shorter”.
“Oh, I feeled the arm too exhausted. I hope we can continue with good form”.
It was a surprising result, and not just because Murray was the No. 1 seed and the second-ranked player in the world. Murray has now reached seven finals in succession.
Cilic only holds his serve 73.1% of the time against Murray, while Murray holds 83.2% of the time versus the Croat, but their one meeting this season (on grass at Queen’s) went to three sets.
“It took a bit of time to get into it, but I did all right. If I want to make the steps forward in the big tournaments, that’s going to make the biggest difference”, Raonic told ESPN. “I need 10 or 12 more of those matches to sustain that level and also to send a statement not only for me, but towards everyone”. It worked and I was making nearly every return, but I still preferred the other racquet for serves and volleys.
“That is not a formula of success by any means. I think she might be a little bit exhausted or she felt a little bit of pressure on herself”, Pliskova said.
Next up for Coric is the victor of the match between sixth seed Tomas Berdych and 12th-seeded Marin Cilic.
Cilic overcame Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 4-6 6-3 7-5, coming back twice from a break down in the third set in a match that ended past 1:30 AM ET following a two-hour rain delay. Dimitrov led Cilic 4-2 in the third set but lost 8 of the last 9 points and five of the last 6 games to lose the match.
Cilic has reached a first Masters 1000 final on his 71st attempt.
Murray needed treatment early in the first set for a lower back issue but claimed a vital break in the fifth game and, despite looking a little heavy-legged at times, safely served out the set.
Murray’s last defeat came against world number one Novak Djokovic in the final of the French Open in June.
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Despite the late start and finish to the second semifinal, the men’s final is still scheduled for 4pm ET.
