Andy Murray’s run at the China Open is over, but it did not end before another commendable performance–this time in the quarterfinals against top-seeded Dominic Thiem.
Murray, who won multiple matches at a tournament for the first time this year (over Matteo Berrettini and Cameron Norrie), went down to to the fifth-ranked Austrian 6-2, 7-6(3) after one hour and 55 minutes on Friday afternoon. Thiem won 40 of 46 first-serve points and 16 of 25 second-serve return points to help fend off the 32-year-old Scot.
“I think there were some really good points in the match–like at the beginning of the match some really good points; also at the end,” said Murray. “I was a little bit unsure kind of how to go about the match at the beginning…. I was feeling a little bit tired this morning. We talked about maybe, ‘If you are feeling that way, try to finish off some of the points….’
“I went a bit off track there at first, in terms of how I was playing. The week overall was good.”
Thiem’s week will continue with a semifinal showdown against Karen Khachanov. If the 26-year-old prevails on Saturday, he will officially clinch a return trip to the Nitto ATP Finals.
Khachanov, an alternate last year at the O2 Arena in London, overcame Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 on Friday. The ninth-ranked Russian broke serve five times over the course of one hour and 46 minutes.
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nice one, Thiem