Andy Murray earned his first ATP-level match win following February hip surgery when he defeated Tennys Sandgren 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-1 on Tuesday at the Zhuhai Championships. But Murray’s run came to an end in the second round on Thursday, when a red-hot Alex de Minaur prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. It was another grueling contest for the 32-year-old Scot, who succumbed to the 20-year-old Australian after two hours and 42 minutes. Murray’s showdown against Sandgren lasted two hours and 41 minutes.
De Minaur earned the crucial break in the final set at 4-4, but Murray was not quite finished. The three-time Grand Slam champion got a look at three break points in the last game of the match but could not convert.
“Yesterday was the first time in my entire career that I didn’t practice the day before a match,” Murray explained. “I’m trying to maybe look at ways to give my body a bit of a break and a rest when I can, which is maybe something in the past that I wouldn’t have done.”
There will be no rest for de Minaur, who moves on to a first-ever meeting with Borna Coric on Friday night. Coric followed up an opening bye as the No. 4 seed with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Chinese wild card Di Wu 6-3, 6-3.
The rest of the Zhuhai quarterfinals are rounded out by Adrian Mannarino vs. Damir Dzumhur, Gael Monfils vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Andreas Seppi. Mannarino got a retirement from top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas prior to their third set on Thursday.
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onward to the title, Demon