CINCINNATI, August 19, 2016
Andy Murray headlined Thursday’s action at the Western & Southern Open, earning his 600th victory at ATP World Tour level to reach the quarterfinals in Cincinnati. The top seed defeated Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-2 in 90 minutes.
“It’s cool that it happened in Cincinnati, the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament I’ve ever played in. I got a wild card here when I was 18,” Murray told after the match. “I also won my first Masters 1000 here, so it’s a place that means a lot to me.”
In his encounter with the South African, Murray won 58% of the total points played.
“Kevin has had some tough injuries to deal with this year and is starting to sort of gradually get back to the level he was playing at last year. It takes time,” Murray said. “For me, I’m coming off the best few months of my career, so it’s slightly different circumstances.”
The world number two will next take on Bernard Tomic. The 23-year-old Aussie won two tie-breaks to upset fifth favourite Kei Nishikori. Tomic fired 10 aces and and claimed 76% of first serve points in the near two-hour display.
Borna Coric ends a 10-match losing streak against top-10 players, taking out third seed Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-3. The 19-year-old Croat hit eight aces, winning 83% of his first service points to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal after 72 minutes. Next up for Coric will be will be his fellow countryman Marin Cilic, who ousted the tournament’s number six Tomas Berdych 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 55 minutes.
In the opening match on centre court, Grigor Dimitrov knocked out second seed and his doubles partner this week Stan Wawrinka, winning 6-4, 6-4. The 25-year-old Bulgarian required just a single break of serve in each set to prevail in one hour and 22 minutes.
Dimitrov will next take on Steve Johnson, who beat the tournament’s number seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6. The 26-year-old from California sent down seven aces, saved all six break points he faced, converting one of his own to advance in one hour and 30 minutes. With his second win over the Frenchman in as many meetings, Johnson will become the top-ranked US-American on Monday, taking over the spot that John Isner has held since July 2013.
What a day!!! Thank you all for the kind words!!! Love playing here @CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/HxFUIVNCXr
— Steve Johnson (@SJohnson_89) 18. August 2016
Fourth seed Milos Raonic overcame Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita, winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 34 minutes to face Austrian youngster Dominic Thiem in the stage of the final eight. The 22-year-old benefited from a walkover against Gael Monfils. The Frenchman withdrew from the match with Thiem with a back injury.
Watch Thursday Highlights:
