Two-time former champion Andy Murray was solid on first serve at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Thursday when he booked a place in the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 13 seed Lucas Pouille. Murray will next challenge No. 11 seed David Goffin, who is attempting to clinch a spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 13-20 November, for the first time. Murray capitalised on Pouille’s inexperience, moving towards the net to finish points when the Frenchman floated back sliced backhands. The Scot won the first five games, broke in the first game of the second set and won 95 per cent of his first service points. He...
Watch Hot Shot as Andy Murray showcases the great athlete he is against Steve Johnson on Wednesday at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Getty Images
Andy Murray had little trouble taking his seventh consecutive tour-level victory on Wednesday at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The second seed needed 75 minutes to beat Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-2 and improve his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Johnson to 3-0. The American had forced Murray to pull out a third-set tie-break the last time they played, at the Rio Olympics. But Murray was on from the start of their second-round match in Shanghai. The Brit saved the only break point he faced in the first set and never gave Johnson a look at another one. The two-time Shanghai champion also feasted on Johnson's second serve, winning 70 per cent of his second-serve return points (14/20). “I felt like I...
The chase is on in the battle for No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and it’s a fight that Andy Murray hopes will bring out his best tennis in the closing stages of 2016. The Scot narrowed the gap on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to 1,555 points in the year-to-date standings after winning his fifth tour-level title of the season last week at the China Open in Beijing. The top spot may seem like a long way off, but with tournaments in Shanghai, Vienna, Paris and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals still to come for Murray, he has 4,000 points to play for. “I feel motivated,” said Murray. “I've got something to play for towards the end...