BEIJING, October 2, 2019
Andy Murray headlined Wednesday’s second round action of the China Open. The 32-year-old emerged victorious from the all-British affair with qualifier Cameron Norrie to reach his first quarterfinal on the ATP Tour this season.
After two tight sets taken on tie-breaks, Murray raced through the decider to win 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-1 after nearly three hours in Beijing. The current World No. 503 won 71 per cent of his first-service games and converted four of his 13 break point chances.
✨ Murray magic is back ✨#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/iYfHviNE4p
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 2, 2019
“I’m tired, I just had a sleep before coming,” said Murray, quoted by the ATP Tour website. “I’m really tired. That’s the first time I’ve had to do that since I came back… It’s something that I need to kind of get used to again, especially playing at this level and that intensity.
“It was a good step for me. It’s great that I won the match. Whether I’d won or lost it, I was able to come out the following day and be competitive and play some good tennis. But obviously I’m happy I’ve got the day off tomorrow to recover.”
Murray will next take on top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria, who eased past Chinese wild card entry Zhizhen Zhang 6-3, 6-3 in 69 minutes.
Karen Khachanov also booked his spot in the stage of the final eight. The No. 4 seed from Russia defeated French qualifier Jeremy Chardy 7-6(0), 7-6(5). Khachanov fired 11 aces and won 96 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 41 minutes.
Up next for the 23-year-old Moscow native will be Fabio Fognini. The No. 6 seed from Italy edged past Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-3, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
