Andy Murray beat Vasek Pospisil in straight sets to reach the last eight of a tournament for the first time since the ATP Challenger Biella in February.
Read more here Daily Express :: Sport Feed
Tag Archives: Murray
Murray defeats Pospisil to reach first ATP QF since 2019
Andy Murray said his body felt good and admitted he can feel his confidence growing with each game as he overcame Canadian Vasek Pospisil to reach the last eight in Metz, where he will face either Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz or Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
By PA Media
Last Updated: 22/09/21 8:29pm
Andy Murray marched on to the next round in Metz (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Andy Murray moved into the quarter-finals of the Moselle Open in Metz with a convincing 6-3 6-3 win over Vasek Pospisil on Wednesday.
The Scot had came through his first-round match against world No 26 Ugo Humbert in three sets.
Murray – who was beaten in a Challenger in Rennes last week – broke Pospisil in the seventh game of the opening set, which he closed out as the Canadian failed to hold again.
Pospisil, ranked 66 in the ATP standings, rallied at the start of the second set to immediately break the former world No 1 and then held to move 2-0 ahead.
Murray, though, remained composed to stay in the set and eventually broke back to level at 3-3.
A hold from Murray kept the pressure on before a couple of unforced errors from Pospisil saw the Briton serve for the match.
Murray obliged with an impressive hold, taking a first match point as Pospisil sent another return into the net.
“I was trying to make him work on his service games, and he has an excellent serve, then likes to dictate with the first ball after,” Murray said in his courtside interview on Amazon Prime.
“I was trying to focus on getting lots of returns back and then when I got the opportunity I was trying to put some pressure on him, I think I did that well.
“For the most part, I served pretty good, lost my rhythm a bit at the end of the first set, start of the second, but I returned well and played a smart match.
“Even after I was a break down, I was still creating chances and once I got back into the second set I gained a bit of confidence and was a little bit more offensive, that was what turned the match for me.”
Murray, runner-up in Metz in 2007, will next face either Polish top seed Hubert Hurkacz, the world No 13, or Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
“For me, this period of the last few years has been the most I have played really,” added Murray, who had pushed world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in the first round of the US Open last month.
“My body feels good and I am starting to gain just a little bit of confidence with each match, starting to see the points and how I want to play them, which is great.
“There have been times in the past year where I have been a little bit confused and not seeing how the points are developing which was always a strong part of my game.
“It made me feel quite uncomfortable on court when I was feeling that way, so I am starting to get that back and the results are coming, my tennis is getting better.”
Murray, 34, added: “I would love to get another opportunity to play here in the final, but there is a lot of tennis to be played before then potentially against the number one seed in the next round.
“It is not going to be easy if I want to reach the final, but I am playing well and have an opportunity.”
Don’t forget to follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our Twitter account @skysportstennis & Sky Sports – on the go! Available to download now on – iPhone & iPad and Android
Read more here SkySports | News
Andy Murray sends message to UK Government over Emma Raducanu – ‘Not really good enough’
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, said her success should help fuel a concerted effort to make British tennis become less exclusive.
He added: “One of the images that tennis has had over the years has just been that it’s not accessible enough, I think.
“If your image is that – that it’s a rich person’s sport and it’s too expensive to play – I’m sure that that potentially puts people off, maybe parents as well getting their kids into it.”
Murray’s calls for greater accessibility were echoed by the Lawn Tennis Association in the wake of Raducanu’s monumental victory.
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd is hoping to refurbish public park courts that are deteriorating around the UK.
Adblock test (Why?)
Read more here Daily Express :: Sport Feed
Andy Murray sends message to UK Government over Emma Raducanu – ‘Not really good enough’
Emma Raducanu reacts to messages from the royal family
Sign up for
FREE
tennis updates from on and off the court
FREE
tennis updates from on and off the court
Invalid email
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time.
More info
Tennis icon
Andy Murray
has called for more investment in the sport at grassroots level after
Emma Raducanu
’s historic US Open win – and said the state of British tennis is not good enough. Raducanu made history at Flushing Meadows, becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in just her second appearance at such a tournament, doing so without dropping a set.
Related articles
The 18-year-old is also the first British woman to win a major singles title since Virigina Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.
Before Raducanu’s triumph, Murray was the last Briton to win a Grand Slam when he was triumphant at Wimbledon in 2016, so he understands the weight of her achievement.
The 34-year-old believes the UK should have more tennis champions however.
He called on the government and other bodies to seize the opportunity that Raducanu’s spectacular success has created given the rise in interest back in Britain.
JUST IN:
Emma Raducanu returns to training as she eyes next tournament
Andy Murray called on British tennis to improve and add to his and Emma Raducanu’s victories
(Image: GETTY)
“On the men’s side, it was 77 years’ wait for someone to win a Grand Slam and women’s, it’s been 44 years,” said Murray.
“For a country that hosts the biggest tennis tournament in the world and certainly not lacking in money, that’s not really good enough.
“Now should be an opportunity to try to make sure it’s not another huge wait. They need to try to take the opportunity.”
Raducanu is reportedly in line for a CBE from the Queen while she is the favourite to win Sports Personality of the Year.
Related articles
READ MORE
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, said her success should help fuel a concerted effort to make British tennis become less exclusive.
He added: “One of the images that tennis has had over the years has just been that it’s not accessible enough, I think.
“If your image is that – that it’s a rich person’s sport and it’s too expensive to play – I’m sure that that potentially puts people off, maybe parents as well getting their kids into it.”
Murray’s calls for greater accessibility were echoed by the Lawn Tennis Association in the wake of Raducanu’s monumental victory.
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd is hoping to refurbish public park courts that are deteriorating around the UK.
Andy Murray was eliminated in the first round at the US Open by Stefanos Tsitsipas
(Image: GETTY)
READ MORE
Lloyd claimed 40 per cent of such courts are in ‘poor or unplayable condition’.
“Our vision for the LTA is to open up tennis and to do that we need to ensure that the public facilities available for anyone to play are on there,” Lloyd told the BBC.
“We have invested £8.5million into local authorities to start the journey of putting them back into long-term sustainable use.
“But we’re also very keen to work with Government to ensure we can finish that job and we think that’s about another £15-20million worth of funding that could see 1,800 tennis courts in parks come back into use.”
Murray is in action on Tuesday against France’s Ugo Humbert in the round of 32 at the Moselle Open.
Related articles
Read more here Daily Express :: Sport Feed
Andy Murray admits considering shaving entire body for wife Kim Sears amidst ‘dry spell’
Amused by the remark, Romesh asks the tennis ace to explain how their conversation came about.
“So were you having dinner or was it late one evening and you said, ‘Would you like it if I shaved my body from top to bottom?'”
Chuckling to himself Andy went into more detail.
“We’d probably been going through a bit of a dry spell and maybe I’d lost a bit of confidence,” he said.
Author: Andrea Tonks
Read more here >>> Daily Express :: Celebrity News
‘He doesn’t want to leave the party that’s the problem’ Expert hints at Murray retirement
Sports journalist Rupert Bell appeared on GB News to discuss Wimbledon and Andy Murray‘s loss against Canadian Denis Shapovalov and what the future now holds for him. Mr Bell looked at Andy Murray’s history of injuries and the short amount of time to train in the lead up to the tournament. Mr Bell said Andy Murray simply refuses to quit stating it was part of his “problem” and said his fitness and health was “not as it once was”.
Author: Kyle Farrell
Read more here >>> Daily Express :: Sport
Andy Murray hints at retirement thoughts after Wimbledon exit to Denis Shapovalov
Andy Murray has indicated that he would consider his future in tennis if he was unable to find better form at Grand Slams than what he showed against Denis Shapovalov at Wimbledon in their third-round encounter. Murray came into this year’s Wimbledon having played little tennis after a number of injury issues.
A disappointing show at Queen’s left him with little match preparation for the start of Wimbledon.
And that rustiness showed at times in his first-round match against No 24 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Murray should have wrapped the win up in three sets after marching to a 5-0 lead in the third, only to suffer a collapse in form with his opponent forcing a fourth.
There was even more drama in his second-round match against Oscar Otte as Murray rolled back the years to record a miraculous comeback victory in five sets.
JUST IN: Novak Djokovic one step closer to Federer record with Wimbledon win
But both those matches saw Murray spend seven hours on the court through the opening two rounds.
Murray acknowledged in his post-match press conference after losing to Shapovalov in straight sets that spending that long on the courts put him at a disadvantage from the off.
Having played just a handful of matches over the past six months, Murray knew that preserving his body was key to any success he was going to have at Wimbledon.
And the two-time Wimbledon champion also conceded that to challenge someone like Shapovalov at this stage of his recovery, his game would “need to be spot-on”.
DON’T MISS
While Murray walks away from Wimbledon – his first appearance in the grasscourt Grand Slam in the men’s singles since 2017 – with plenty of positives.
The 34-year-old also admits that he may well hold discussions on what his future will be if he’s unable to string a run of tournaments together to help improve his ranking.
“There is a part of me that feels a bit like I have put in so much work the last three months and, you know, ultimately didn’t play how I would want and expect, and it’s like is it worth it?” Murray said.
“Is all of that training and everything that you’re doing in the gym, you know, unless you’re able to like practice and, you know, improve your game and get matches and continue, get, you know, a run of tournaments, like, is it worth all of the work that you’re doing?
“You know, there is part of me that feels like, yes, it is, because I had, you know, great memories and stuff from this event and playing in some brilliant atmosphere.
“But then, also, I finished the match tonight and I’m saying to my team, I’m like, That’s just — yeah, I’m just not happy with how I played.
“So unless me and my team can find a way of keeping me on the court for, you know, a consistent period of time and allow me to practice the way that I need to to compete with these guys, then, yeah, then that’s when, you know, the discussions about what I do next will come in.
“Because I have genuinely put a lot into this to get to this point, but I’m not being able to practice and prepare how I need to to perform how I would like at these events.
“Like I said, I’m not expecting and saying, like, I would beat Denis Shapovalov. He’s a brilliant player. But I feel like I can do a lot better than what I did this evening.”
Author: Stuart Ballard
Read more here >>> Daily Express :: Sport
Andy Murray vs Denis Shapovalov LIVE: Wimbledon scores as Murray loses first set
Shapovalov takes the first set!
Shapovalov* 6-4 Murray
WHAT DRAMA! Shapovalov survives three break points which would have thrust Murray right back into contention for this first set.
As it turns out, it wasn’t to be. The two-time champion could not quite see it over the line and the Canadian takes a deserved one-set lead.
Shapovalov 5-4 Murray*
Momentum: regained. Murray holds serve to bring him to within one of the Canadian, although he still has it all to do if he is to take the lead.
Shapovalov* 5-3 Murray
That’s more like it from Murray! Not many saw that coming, a 40-0 break of serve which gives the Scot a lifeline as he tries to work his way back into this first set.
Shapovalov 5-2 Murray*
Finally, Murray is back on the board. That is his first game since the very first in the match. The first set now looks to be out of reach for the Scot, but he may as well try and regain some momentum heading into the second.
Shapovalov* 5-1 Murray
Murray has a good go at Shapovalov’s service game, but he could not quite do enough to knock him off his perch as he romps towards a one-set lead.
Shapovalov 4-1 Murray*
Even at this early stage, the crowd can sense that Murray needs some extra support. Unfortunately, their cries go unanswered as a series of top-class shots from Shapovalov seal his second consecutive break of serve after a long battle at deuce.
Shapovalov* 3-1 Murray
Shapovalov really is looking formiddable in the early exchanges. He pounces on his opportunity after the break of serve to take his service game without reply.
Shapovalov 2-1 Murray*
After racing into a 30-0 lead, Murray lost his grip on the game. Both men sat down as Murray’s miss looked to have handed Shapovalov a break, only to be ushered back onto the court when hawkeye revealed otherwise.
Still, the result did not change as the Canadian won a superb rally to give himself an advantage here in the early stages of the match.
Shapovalov* 1-1 Murray
Some extremely eye-catching work from Shapovalov, although he made hard work of drawing the first set level at one game apiece.
Murray became the latest victim of the court’s slippery surface during a tense battle at deuce.
Shapovalov 0-1 Murray*
A great start for Andy Murray who storms into a 1-0 lead. The crowd, understandably, are loving it!
(* indicates serve)
Andy Murray vs Denis Shapovalov LIVE
6pm: Andy Murray is hoping the Wimbledon grass, which has caused a number of injuries to players already this week, is less slippy than it has been.
“Yeah, it is slippy. And it’s not – it actually, it felt better today than it did when I played my first match, and hopefully it will continue to get better throughout the tournament,” Murray said after beating Otte.
“But I don’t remember it being quite like that. I know guys, you know, fall down a lot at the beginning of Queen’s, and it happens at Wimbledon, as well. That’s the nature of grass court tennis.
“But it just does feel like the way that players are falling down. Like, there was one where I ran back for a lob, and it was — yeah, it was close to being quite bad. I saw Isner fell and did a sort of similar thing like moving forwards today.
“Yeah, it’s just, yeah, you just don’t want it to be like that. Hopefully it dries out a little bit in the next few days. Some warmer weather I think would help with that. But it’s been a tough few days and a few players have obviously got hurt during matches, and a few have been lucky, me being one of them this evening.”
5.45pm: Good evening and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of Andy Murray’s Wimbledon clash with Denis Shapovalov.
The Scot needed four sets to knock out 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in his opening match of the tournament.
German world No 151 Oscar Otte then pushed Murray the distance in the second round.
Tenth seed Shapovalov is expected to be a much sterner test than Murray’s previous opponents – but stay tuned to see if the three-time Grand Slam champion can produce another memorable display on Centre Court.
Author: Charlie Gordon
Read more here >>> Daily Express :: Sport
Emma Raducanu responds after Andy Murray message as young Brit loving Wimbledon ‘holiday’
Teenage wildcard Emma Raducanu reached the Wimbledon third round on her Grand Slam debut on Thursday night – and then claimed it was like being on holiday. The Londoner, 18, won her first ever Tour-level match in the opening round just two months after finishing her A Levels.
And on Thursday evening Raducanu, who is world No 338, shocked former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 6-4 on Court 12.
“I feel like I am on a holiday,” beamed Raducanu. “It is unbelievable. And I want to stay here as long as I can.
“Playing in front of a home crowd helps, the support is so loud, they are so behind me. I have that in the back of my mind.
“I have tried to play every point like it was my match point or the last point of Wimbledon. I have been playing that trick with myself.”
MUST READ: Andy Murray makes Wimbledon request for Denis Shapovalov clash
Andy Murray led the congratulations on social media as he tweeted “Let’s go @EmmaRaducanu”.
“I haven’t opened my phone yet and really grateful for the messages,” she added.
“I won’t be able to reply to all of them just yet. When I have downtime and I read those positives messages, it gives me a great feeling.”
Raducanu only sat her A Levels two months ago – and is now guaranteed to win at least £115,00. That quadruples here career earnings until now of £28,754.
And she will bank £181,000 if she reaches the fourth round with a win on Saturday.
Asked if she would rather get good exam results in maths and economics or reach the fourth round, she laughed: “Definitely the fourth round!”
Raducanu, whose father is from Bucharest, will now face Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian world No 45 beat Victoria Azarenka for the first time at the fifth attempt on a loud Court 1.
“I have to say I have been a professional since I was 16 years old but this was the best atmosphere I have ever had on a court.
“We have missed the public so much and today they helped me so much. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a match like this.”
It is the first time since 2017 that four British players – Andy Murray, Jo Konta, Heather Watson and Aljaz Bedene – have reached the third round.
Author: Neil McLeman
This post originally appeared on Daily Express :: Sport
Andy Murray makes Wimbledon request for Denis Shapovalov clash after epic five-set win
Andy Murray secured his spot in the third round of Wimbledon after seeing off Oscar Otte on Wednesday night in an absorbing encounter.
Author:
This post originally appeared on Daily Express :: Sport Feed