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| Andy Murray into Rome Open quarter-finals with win over Jürgen Melzer | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Andy Murray could not have had a better workout ahead of the quarter-finals of the Rome Open than the hour and 41 minutes the stubborn Jürgen Melzer gave him before the Scot struck his sixth ace to win 7-6, 6-4 under warm skies on Thursday. | |
| Murray, celebrating his 27th birthday, looked in good shape for the French Open, which starts a week on Sunday. | Murray, celebrating his 27th birthday, looked in good shape for the French Open, which starts a week on Sunday. |
| On the same Grandstand court where Richard Gasquet beat him in three sets two years ago – and where Maria Sharapova this week complained of the uneven and perilous bounce – Murray met an opponent high on confidence after good wins over John Isner and Marin Cilic, both well clear of the Austrian in the rankings, provisionally rated at 67 after his recent return from seven months out with a shoulder injury. | On the same Grandstand court where Richard Gasquet beat him in three sets two years ago – and where Maria Sharapova this week complained of the uneven and perilous bounce – Murray met an opponent high on confidence after good wins over John Isner and Marin Cilic, both well clear of the Austrian in the rankings, provisionally rated at 67 after his recent return from seven months out with a shoulder injury. |
| There was nothing wrong with Melzer's strong left-arm on Thursday, as he mixed power and touch to bring the best out of Murray in a first set rich in quality and incident. | |
| After breaking Murray to love in the first three minutes, Melzer, holding to 30 and stretching the world No 8 to lead 3-1, must have entertained thoughts of interrupting his 5-0 losing sequence against him. But Murray found a couple of aces to level at 3-3 and they settled into several spirited exchanges. | After breaking Murray to love in the first three minutes, Melzer, holding to 30 and stretching the world No 8 to lead 3-1, must have entertained thoughts of interrupting his 5-0 losing sequence against him. But Murray found a couple of aces to level at 3-3 and they settled into several spirited exchanges. |
| Sharapova's concerns seemed to be justified with some uneven bounce and a heavy tumble by Melzer, who took an inordinately long time to wash the clay from his hands in mid-game. | Sharapova's concerns seemed to be justified with some uneven bounce and a heavy tumble by Melzer, who took an inordinately long time to wash the clay from his hands in mid-game. |
| The match was closer than the scores suggest, and Murray had to fight through six deuce points to hold in the ninth game, which took 15 minutes – half as long as the entire match to that point. | |
| In sight of the set, Murray clicked up a gear, although Melzer, still moving well at 32, did his best to stay with him. The rally of the match arrived in a blizzard of close-quarter touch-tennis in the tie-break, Murray finishing it with a deft backhand volley for 6-0, and closed it out comfortably. | In sight of the set, Murray clicked up a gear, although Melzer, still moving well at 32, did his best to stay with him. The rally of the match arrived in a blizzard of close-quarter touch-tennis in the tie-break, Murray finishing it with a deft backhand volley for 6-0, and closed it out comfortably. |
| He broke at the start of the second but had a blip in the sixth game, handing Melzer two break points with some inattentive tennis and was left stranded on the baseline when a sizzling return clipped the corner line for 3-3. | He broke at the start of the second but had a blip in the sixth game, handing Melzer two break points with some inattentive tennis and was left stranded on the baseline when a sizzling return clipped the corner line for 3-3. |
| Murray then won eight points in a row to break and hold for 5-3, and Melzer's head dropped. Serving for the match, Murray faltered before finishing with an ace. His serve was good in Madrid and better here. He will be pleased with his performance. | Murray then won eight points in a row to break and hold for 5-3, and Melzer's head dropped. Serving for the match, Murray faltered before finishing with an ace. His serve was good in Madrid and better here. He will be pleased with his performance. |
| The ageless Tommy Haas earlier brought Stanislas Wawrinka's tournament to a dramatic conclusion in two hours of absorbing tennis on Campo Centrale. In a contest of fluctuating fortunes in still, warm air, the German with the American accent aced the Australian Open champion for the seventh time to wrap up a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 win that puts him through to the quarter-finals. | The ageless Tommy Haas earlier brought Stanislas Wawrinka's tournament to a dramatic conclusion in two hours of absorbing tennis on Campo Centrale. In a contest of fluctuating fortunes in still, warm air, the German with the American accent aced the Australian Open champion for the seventh time to wrap up a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 win that puts him through to the quarter-finals. |
| Following the departure of Roger Federer at the first time of asking on Wednesday, the Swiss contingent has been obliterated and expectations for Roland Garros recalculated. Wawrinka, who went out before the quarters in Indian Wells and in his first match in Madrid last week, but beat Federer to win in Monte Carlo to go with his January victory in Chennai, needs a run of consistency to lift himself for the French Open, which starts on Sunday. He faded disappointingly here against the 15th seed, who has now won both their matches. | Following the departure of Roger Federer at the first time of asking on Wednesday, the Swiss contingent has been obliterated and expectations for Roland Garros recalculated. Wawrinka, who went out before the quarters in Indian Wells and in his first match in Madrid last week, but beat Federer to win in Monte Carlo to go with his January victory in Chennai, needs a run of consistency to lift himself for the French Open, which starts on Sunday. He faded disappointingly here against the 15th seed, who has now won both their matches. |
| In the bottom half of the draw, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has had an indifferent season, was denied his 300th Tour win when eighth seed Milos Raonic beat him 7-6, 6-4. The Frenchman has lost 10 times this year and will probably not go to his home tournament bubbling with enthusiasm. | In the bottom half of the draw, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has had an indifferent season, was denied his 300th Tour win when eighth seed Milos Raonic beat him 7-6, 6-4. The Frenchman has lost 10 times this year and will probably not go to his home tournament bubbling with enthusiasm. |
| Raonic plays Federer's conqueror, Jeremy Chardy, who was way too sharp for the Croatian Ivan Dodig, winning 6-3, 6-2. | Raonic plays Federer's conqueror, Jeremy Chardy, who was way too sharp for the Croatian Ivan Dodig, winning 6-3, 6-2. |