Andy Murray stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in Stuttgart for his first Top 5 win since 2016.
The former World No. 1 showed his grass-court pedigree with a 7-6(4), 6-3 over the World No 5 to reach the semi-finals.
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“I felt like I had very few chances, but when he was creating chances on my serve, I stayed strong,” Murray said in the on-court interview.
Andy Murray + grass = magic 🪄
He scores his first Top 5 win since 2016 over the first seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(4) 6-3 🙌 @andy_murray | @theweissenhof | #BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/Ssk7jO48qi
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 10, 2022
“I played a really solid tie-break and in the second set, once I was in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating a lot of the points. It was a good performance.”
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It was the first match between Murray and Tsitsipas since their infamous US Open encounter, when the Brit was infuriated by a long bathroom break from his opponent.
Throughout the one-hour, 40-minute encounter, Murray used his backhand slice to keep the ball low, while he moved inside the baseline to effectively close points at the net.
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Murray’s last victory over a Top 5 opponent came against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in 2016, the same year he reached his last grass-court singles final (Wimbledon).
The 35-year-old, who opted to miss the bulk of the clay swing to prepare for the grass-court events, is up to No. 53 in the ATP Live Rankings.
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The last time Murray was inside the Top 50 was in May 2018.
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