World No. 2 Andy Murray won an all-British clash with Kyle Edmund on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing. The top seed overcame stiff resistance from #NextGen star Edmund in the first set before claiming a 7-6(9), 6-2 victory.
“He made it very tough for me. He’s improving at a solid pace now. His [Emirates ATP] ranking is moving in the right direction,” said Murray. “He’s getting there. If he keeps going on the path he’s on just now, he’ll be up at the top of the game very soon.”
Murray goes on to face fifth seed David Ferrer as he looks to reach his ninth tour-level final of the season.
“Every match against him, he certainly makes you earn it. There’s not many short points against him. He’s a great returner, moves extremely well. He makes every match tough,” said Murray. “You always have to play very well to win against him. If you don’t, there’s a good chance you could lose the match.”
The Scot was made to work hard for his ATP-best 58th match win of the season, ending Edmund’s challenge in one hour and 49 minutes. After being denied on a set point in the 10th game of the opener, Murray rallied from 2/5 down in the tie-break and saved a set point at 5/6 before finally converting his fifth opportunity to claim the first set.
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Edmund’s heavy barrage from the back continued to cause Murray trouble in the early stages of the second set, with the 21 year old breaking for a 2-0 lead. But from there Murray raised his level and went on a run of six games to seal victory.
Edmund was competing in his third ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and is projected to break into the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings next week.
Murray is looking to close the gap on Novak Djokovic in the battle for the No. 1 ranking. The Scot could move to 1,555 points behind the Serbian with victory in Beijing, with a further 1000 points on the line next week at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Murray takes a 13-6 FedEx ATP Head2Head record into his semi-final clash with Ferrer and has won their past six contests. The 34-year-old Ferrer also took out a member of the Next Generation, edging Alexander Zverev 6-7(4), 6-1, 7-5 in two hours and 21 minutes.
Ferrer fought back from a 4-1 double break deficit in the first set, only to succumb to Zverev in the tie-break. But the Spaniard dominated proceedings in the second set, racing through to level the match. Zverev twice led by a break in the decider, but the German teen could not maintain his advantage and Ferrer broke decisively in the 12th game to claim victory.
The 19-year-old Zverev recently won his first ATP World Tour title at the St. Petersburg Open, beating Stan Wawrinka. He is the first teenager to win 40 matches in a season since Djokovic and Murray both won 40 in 2006.
Ferrer is looking to reach his first final since 2015, when he lifted five ATP World Tour trophies. The right-hander reached the final of this ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tournament in 2010, finishing runner-up to Djokovic.