After the first victory over an opponent from the top five in five and a half years yesterday, what can Andy Murray serve today against a close friend Nick Kyrgios?
Whatever the outcome of today’s semi-final, you can be sure that Murray will receive a lot of encouragement from this week’s Stuttgart Open, which will be his main goal at Wimbledon.
Friday’s victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas was the first time Murray has beaten a world-ranked player since 2016, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the ATP finals.
Currently 68th in the world and armed with a metal thigh, the 35-year-old beat the Greek first-teamer 7-6 (4) 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes to create a clash of the last four with Australian Kyrgyos.
Murray said in an interview on the court afterwards: “It was an amazing atmosphere. Almost full audience. Great weather today, really good conditions for playing tennis. I thought I did well. He served amazingly in the first set. “I felt like I had very few chances, but when he created positions on my serve, I stayed strong. I played a really solid tie-break and in the second set, after being in the rally, I had the feeling that I was dictating a lot of points. It was a good performance. “
The result was a sign that Murray was applying his almost incomparable knowledge to the grass court, and this increased his chances of insisting on Wimbledon by just over two weeks to go.
But first, a meeting with Kyrgyos and the opportunity to book a place on Sunday’s final.
World No. 78 Kyrgios missed the entire clay court season, but is now also included in the grass swing before Wimbledon.
The fiery Australian and Murray are good friends despite their very different personalities, and the Scot has won five of their previous six meetings.
Kyrgios said: “I know what to expect, but he is also a veteran of the grass and I do not want to take him lightly at all. I’ll just go out there, serve big, take care of my serve and see what I can do in his rematch. “
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