Andy Murray breezes past Denis Istomin to reach semis – Brisbane International 2013
British number one, Andy Murray, got the better of the Uzbekistani star, Denis Istomin, in straight sets at the Brisbane International 2013 on Friday. He notched up a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory against the world number 43 to book a spot in the semi-finals at this
ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event taking place in Brisbane, Australia.
Seeded top in this event, Murray displayed flawless tennis to outclass Istomin in their first encounter. After earning the fame in one hour and 37 minutes, Murray took lead in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the Uzbek and progressed into
the final four at this Australian Open lead-up tournament.
"For the most part it was pretty good quality," reflected Murray after the match. "He served well for the majority of the first set, and especially well at the beginning the second. So I didn't really have that many chances on returns, so I needed to serve
well today. That helped."
Murray made a comfortable entry at the Queensland Tennis Centre. He swiftly plucked his entire serves after brushing off both breakpoints he came across. The Scot got the breakthrough in the ninth game after cashing the lone break chance and sealed the opener
by winning six games to four.
Ranked third in the world, Murray carried his momentum into the second round. He smoothly kept his entire serves without facing any hindrance. Despite failing to seek any break opportunity, the Scot remained focused in the tie-breaker and eventually clinched
the set with a 7-6(3) score line.
The 25-year-old ruled throughout the clash. He clobbered a better first serve share of 64 per cent as compared to his rival’s 55 per cent and impressively marked 38 out of 46 points on it.
Next in queue for the Dunblane native is the fifth seed, Kei Nishikori from Japan.
The Asian number one commented in an on-court interview, “It's going to be a big step year for me. I will try to get into the Top 10 hopefully and stay healthy and stay strong. That's the goal for this year.”
The Japanese star upset fourth seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets to reach this spot.
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