After forcing his opponent into an unforced error with ceaseless defensive shots, Murray set up break point by snapping a slow rally with a brutal backhand that Simon could only spoon long, with pressure on the Frenchman’s second serve giving the Brit an early break.
Advertisement
The Brit trained with Nadal ahead of this year’s Madrid Open and says he would relish the chance to face the “King of Clay” in his home city. “That was the most pleasant thing for me, because I’ve only played maybe three or four indoor clay matches in my life”.
“I practised with him in Mallorca for a few days, which was good”.
Querrey broke back to level at 2-2, but Nadal pulled away in the final stages to remain on course for a fifth title in Madrid.
Top seed Novak Djokovic cruises to a 6-2 6-1 victory over Roberto Bautista-Agut in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Chirico, ranked 130 in the world, beat Australian Daria Gavrilova 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 to reach her first ever WTA semi-final where she will face Dominika Cibulkova, who came from a set down to beat the fourth Romanian in the quarters, Sorana Cirstea, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“There’s a lot more spin on it and I can control the second better which frees me up to go for more on my first as well, which is obviously a big advantage for anyone”.
“It was a tough start”, Nadal said.
“He’s definitely playing better, for sure, but I also think that I’m playing better than I was at this time previous year”, Murray said. The 37-year-old Stepanek on Monday became the oldest player to win a match at a Masters 1000 tournament since Jimmy Connors in 1992. Sam Querrey of the United States defeated Lucas Pouille of France 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Tomas Berdych beat Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-3.
“I tweaked my back in my first match, it was cold that day”, said Azarenka.
“I just don’t feel I’m able to compete today”. The World no. 8 Berdych had to win the opening frame in a tiebreak, en route to a 7-6 (8), 7-5 straight sets victory.
Advertisement
“[It] was a satisfying performance against a young player that I had never played against, somebody who was in form”, Djokovic said.
