Murray cruises, Djokovic too
21 March 2015 11:53 PM GMT
Fourth seed Andy Murray set a record for open era wins by a British man with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez to reach the semifinal at Indian Wells on Thursday. Murray booked showdown with defending champion Novak Djokovic who won his quarterfinal in a walkover when Australian Bernard Tomic withdrew from their scheduled quarterfinal.
Murray now has 497 match wins, surpassing Tim Henman for the most in the Open Era by a British player. “I was able to deal with his difficult spins on Friday but it was tough because he fought right to the end,” said Murray, now just three wins shy of the 500-win milestone.
There are just eight active players and only 45 in Open Era history to hit the 500 mark.
Murray blasted four aces and won over 70 percent of his first and second serve points in the one hour, 32 minute match. Lopez came into the match leading the tournament in aces with 46 in three matches. But the 12th seeded Spaniard managed just five against Murray on Thursday. Murray ended his historic 2013, where he became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years, when he had back surgery.
The rehab took time and he was not the same player in 2014. But Murray began to get back into form at the end of last year and is now eager to win his first Indian Wells title this week. His best finish is a runner-up in 2009, when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final. He was also runner up at 2015 Australian Open and lost in the quartersl in Dubai and Rotterdam.
Murray now has 497 match wins, surpassing Tim Henman for the most in the Open Era by a British player. “I was able to deal with his difficult spins on Friday but it was tough because he fought right to the end,” said Murray, now just three wins shy of the 500-win milestone.
There are just eight active players and only 45 in Open Era history to hit the 500 mark.
Murray blasted four aces and won over 70 percent of his first and second serve points in the one hour, 32 minute match. Lopez came into the match leading the tournament in aces with 46 in three matches. But the 12th seeded Spaniard managed just five against Murray on Thursday. Murray ended his historic 2013, where he became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years, when he had back surgery.
The rehab took time and he was not the same player in 2014. But Murray began to get back into form at the end of last year and is now eager to win his first Indian Wells title this week. His best finish is a runner-up in 2009, when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final. He was also runner up at 2015 Australian Open and lost in the quartersl in Dubai and Rotterdam.
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