By Tennis Now | Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Andy Murray toppled eighth-seeded Matteo Berrettini, while third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas won six of the last eight games 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Dusan Lajovic.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Andy Murray continued comeback success, while Stefanos Tsitsipas returned to his winning ways in Beijing.
Tsitsipas snapped a six-match losing streak rallying from 0-2 down in the final set to defeat Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his China Open opener.
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The third-seeded Greek scored his first win since August when he beat Benoit Paire to reach the Washington, D.C. semifinals bowing to eventual-champion Nick Kyrgios in a third-set tie break.
Australian Open semifinalist Tsitsipas converted three of seven break points in a two-hour triumph to raise his 2019 record to 39-20. Tsitsipas will next play Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, a 6-4, 7-6(3) victor over Argentine Guido Pella.
Former world No. 1 Murray pumped eight aces against no double faults edging US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini 7-6(2), 7-6(7) for his biggest win of the season. Murray saved five of seven break points.
The 13th-ranked Berrettini has posted a 29-8 record since April 22nd.
Last week in Zhuhai, three-time Grand Slam champion Murray posted his first singles win since undergoing hip resurfacing seven months ago.
The 32-year-old Murray, who won Beijing in 2016, will play fellow Briton Cameron Norrie for a quarterfinal spot.
Theatrical Italian Fabio Fognini brought plenty of drama in a thrilling 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(6) decision over Mikhail Kukushkin. Fognini let a 6-1 tie break lead slip away before finally converting his sixth match point to edge the baseliner from Kazakhstan.
Monte-Carlo champion Fognini will take on Russian Andrey Rublev next.
Rublev, who upset Roger Federer in Cincinnati in August, was a 6-2, 7-5 winner over Federer's US Open conqueror Grigor Dimitrov.
Top-seeded Dominic Thiem powered past Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-1 in one hour, 22 minutes. Thiem, who raised his 2019 record to 34-15 is playing for his fourth title of the season. Should the fifth-ranked Austrian reach the final he will secure a spot in the ATP Finals in London for the fourth consecutive season.
John Isner slammed 22 aces and saved the lone break point he faced fending off seventh-seeded Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. It was Isner's first win over the 11th-ranked Frenchman since the 2013 US Open.
Isner will play British qualifier Daniel Evans for a spot in the quarterfinals.
American Sam Querrey held a 7-6(2), 4-1 lead over Roberto Bautista Agut when the fifth-seeded Spaniard retired sending Querrey into a second-round meeting with Diego Schwartzman, who fought off Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.