World number four Andy Murray overcame the stiff challenge provided by Serbian Janko Tipsravic, beating him 6-4, 7-6 to advance to the quarter-finals at Queen’s.
The 2009 champion was trailing in the rain-delayed second set, but broke back to force a tie-break which he won easily.
Meanwhile, Andy Roddick remains in the hunt for a record fifth crown after advancing to the quarter-final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson. The American made a fast start and a superb forehand brought up two break points in the fifth game. Anderson could not respond to the pressure as he sent a volley wide to concede the break.
Roddick was helped by the South African’s erratic ground-strokes and another wayward forehand presented the third seed with a break for a 3-2 lead in the second set. That was all the incentive he needed and he booked a last-eight clash against Spanish Fernando Verdasco.
Nadal feels the strain
Meanwhile, world number one Rafael Nadal admitted that he is feeling the strain of his French Open heroics, as he kicked off his grass-court season with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Australian Matthew Ebden.
“I had a tough Roland Garros this year,” he said. “I played very long matches so my energy levels aren’t perfect right now.”
However, Nadal was lively enough to break Ebden in the first game of each set and clinched victory in 75 minutes. The victory gave him enough ranking points to secure a place in this year’s World Tour Finals.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2011.
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