Andy Murray beats Florian Mayer to qualify for the semi-finals of Internazionali BNL d’Italia
World number 4 Andy Murray of Great Britain fought back after the thrashing in the opening set to defeat world number 28 Florian Mayer of Germany in three sets 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia
at Foro Italico in Rome on Friday. The Brit took an hour and 32 minutes to oust his opponent.
Mayer crushed Murray in the opening set as he allowed the Brit to win just a single game, grabbing the set 6-1. The German kept his first serve percentage at 72 percent in the opening set, capturing 78 percent of the points on
the first serves. On the other hand, Murray did not serve up to his potential, delivering just 54 percent of the first serves and winning the same percentage of points on them. Mayer saved all the four break points he faced and converted three of the five
break points he received in the first set.
After losing the opening set abysmally, Murray took the revenge in the second set, dropping only one game and claiming the set 6-1. The Brit served at almost the same percentage as in the first set, hitting 53 percent of the first
serves and converting 67 percent of them into points. However, the right-handed made the difference with his aggressive returns, bagging 64 percent of the points on the first returns. Murray capitalized on four of the seven break point opportunities he created
on Mayer’s serve and saved one of the two break points on his own serve in the second set.
Carrying the winning momentum into the final set, the Brit broke Mayer twice and won the set 6-1. The 23-year-old had a first serve percentage of 56 percent, clinching 64 percent of the points on the first serve in the deciding
set. Just like the second set, Murray thrashed his opponent with his powerful and accurate returns, grabbing an incredible 73 percent of the points on them in the third set.
The Brit is slated to face either world number 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia or Swede Robin Soderling, ranked 5th in the world, in the semi-finals.
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