Skip to main content

US Open: Frustrated Murray defeats tough Lorenzi

Andy Murray after he managed to defeat Paolo Lorenzi

Andy Murray after he managed to defeat Paolo Lorenzi

Second seed Andy Murray had to change tactics after two sets before he could beat 34-year-old Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi to advance to the U.S. Open fourth round.

Murray was mopping and muttering to himself as he pressed for winners against the steady Italian and piled up unforced errors before deciding to patiently play long rallies.

This then enabled him secure a 7-6(4) 5-7 6-2 6-3 win.

World number two Murray committed 47 errors in the first two sets, including 31 off his forehand, and converted only 4-of-12 break points before finding his form in the third set.

The 40th-ranked Lorenzi put up a gritty fight in spite of coming off a gruelling five-set, five-hour win over French 30th seed Gilles Simon in his second-round tilt.

The Scotsman’s harder-than-expected three-hour 17-minute victory kept his golden summer moving forward after triumphs at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics.

Lorenzi is also enjoying a stellar season, logging his first victory ever on the ATP Tour.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he became the oldest first-time champion by winning at Kitzbuehel, and adding two semi-finals and a quarter-final to his credit.

“I stopped rushing in the rallies,’’ 2012 U.S. Open winner Murray said in an on-court interview. “I was making quite a few unforced errors.

“He’s an extremely solid player and doesn’t give you many cheap points. I was trying to get cheap points, I was going for too much.

“When I slowed things down and waited for the right shot to go for, my unforced errors went down, the winners went up and the scoreboard started working in my favour as well.”

Murray advanced to a fourth-round clash with 22nd seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, a 6-4 6-1 3-6 6-2 winner over Joao Sousa of Portugal.

The second seed said he did not overlook Lorenzi.

“He’s ranked 40 in the world. He’s pretty good. So I expected a tough match. I expected long rallies, I’m just disappointed with the amount of errors I made,” Murray said.

“That cost me in the first and second sets.”

Murray was impressed with the fortitude of the Italian, who battled the Scot through a brilliant 42-stroke rally in the second set among many long exchanges.

“After the match he had a couple days ago, to come out and move like he did and work as hard as he did out there shows that’s a huge quality of his and it gets you a long way,” Murray said.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...
Post a Comment
Read more