By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, March 2, 2017
Andy Murray fought off seven match points subduing Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (18), 6-1 to reach the Dubai semifinals.
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Tie break tension escalated into mesmerizing magic in Dubai.
Andy Murray and Philipp Kohlschreiber pushed each other—and a wildly enthusiastic crowd—to pulsating places in an epic 31-minute tie break.
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The world No. 1 fought off seven match points in the second-set tie break, including pulling a page from the Mansour Bahrami playbook with an audacious drop shot winner down match point. Across the net, Kohlschreiber created eye-popping strikes denying seven set points.
In a match of fierce defiance and dizzying shot-making, Murray fended off Kohlschreiber, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (18), 6-1 triumph to advance to the Dubai semifinals.
This was tie break tennis as masterpiece theater as both men ratcheted up their level of play to astonishing heights leaving some fans looking buzzed and breathless by what they witnessed.
Playing with aggression, Kohlschreiber turned up the intensity in the opening tie break that saw the returner win six points. Murray betrayed his own cause with a pair of double faults in the breaker as the German snatched a one-set lead.
Exploiting a double fault, Murray broke for a 2-1 second set lead.
The Wimbledon champion served for the second set at 5-4, but Kohlschreiber clocked a series of forehand winners, including an impressive strike down the line breaking back.
Audible gasps of astonishment from the crowd erupted in the second-set tie break when Kohlschreiber hit a brilliant forehand drop shot followed by a slick forehand swing volley saving the first two set points to level the breaker at 6-all.
Excitement was just beginning.
The 29th-ranked German fended off set points at 6-7, 7-8 and 9-10.
The one-handed backhand is Kohlschreiber’s signature shot, but he wreaked major damage with his forehand spreading the court with heavy forehands and often moving forward to drill drive volley winners from that wing.
Meanwhile, Murray pulled off an outrageous forehand drop shot that slithered over the net saving the first match point at 8-9. The stubborn Scot denied match points at 10-11, 12-13, 13-14 and 14-15 as well.
Slashing a slice serve out wide, Murray saved his seventh match point for 17-all.
A sweeping forehand swing volley from Kohlschreiber denied a seventh set point for 18-all. By then, he had hit 30 forehand winners compared to 10 for his higher-ranked opponent.
Barking at himself a few times, Murray kept calm and finally close the epic 31-minute tie break on a Kohlschreiber forehand error.
Prevailing through a spellbinding breaker empowered Murray in the decider, while Kohlschreiber lost a half a step.
Deadlocked at 1-all, Murray fired his 13th ace to save break point. Two games later, he snaked a passing shot to break for 4-1 before sliding his 14th ace extending the lead to 4-1.
After the electrifying tie break, the third set was anti-climactic as Murray prevailed in a tremendous two hour, 54-minute battle.
Continuing his quest for his first Dubai title in his sixth tournament appearance, Murray will play either seventh-seeded Lucas Pouille or 116th-ranked Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy, who denied three match points defeating Roger Federer yesterday, in the semifinals.
Fernando Verdasco defeated fourth-seeded Gael Monfils, 6-3, 7-5, for his first win in four meetings with the flashy Frenchman. Verdasco will face Robin Haase for a place in the final.