Andy Murray restored some order at the Western & Southern Open by cutting down the South African giant Kevin Anderson to reach the quarter-finals on an upset-filled Thursday in Cincinnati.
Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka, two of the other headliners at the US Open warm-up event, fell to a pair of young guns on a hot and steamy day on the Ohio hard courts.
Murray, who clutched at his right shoulder after going an early break down to trail 3-2 in the first set, soon snapped into focus to run off four games in a row on his way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Showing off his dazzling variety of shots and remarkable court coverage, the Olympic champion extended his winning streak to 20 with his 600th career victory on the ATP Tour. The Scot said breaking back straight away was vital.
“It was big, obviously,” Murray, whose run includes winning Wimbledon, said. “When you’re playing against big servers they tend to be frontrunners, so for me to get the break back immediately was key and it got the momentum back.”
Nadal, the third seed, showing fatigue following a busy Olympic schedule that included a gold medal in the men’s doubles, was a step off the pace and paid the price against the 19-year-old Borna Coric of Croatia, who reached the last eight with a 6-1, 6-3 win.
Elsewhere, Grigor Dimitrov eliminated the sluggish Wawrinka, the Bulgarian making the most of a single break of serve against the second seed in each set to win 6-4, 6-4 and book his berth in the quarters.
The Australian Bernard Tomic, 23, notched yet another upset with a 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5) win over the fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, who had won the bronze medal match in Rio against Nadal. Tomic’s next assignment will be against Murray, who has a 4-0 record in head-to-head encounters with the Australian.
Coric advanced to his first ATP Masters quarter-final, dominating Nadal by reeling off 10 straight games to claim the opening set and lead 4-0 in the second. Nadal received treatment on his left wrist after the first set and continued to fight.
“It was an unbelievable match on my side. I think he wasn’t playing his best tennis,” said Coric, who won the junior US Open title in 2013. The Spaniard rallied towards the end before a relieved Coric closed it out on his second match point with a backhand winner.
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“I was thinking: ‘Rafa please miss, I cannot make a winner,’” he said of Nadal’s fightback. Next up for Coric is his compatriot Marin Cilic, who ousted Tomas Berdych, the Czech No6 seed, in three sets.
Dimitrov, 25, who has struggled for consistency, was buoyed by his performance against his doubles partner, Wawrinka. “I need matches like that,” Dimitrov said. “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.”
The Bulgarian will next face the American Steve Johnson, who saved four set points as he advanced to the quarters over the seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). – Agencies
