Andy Murray into quarter-finals of Shanghai Masters
British No.1 Andy Murray advanced to the last eight of the Shanghai Masters after a 6-3 6-4 win over Frenchman Jérémy Chardy.
The win means Murray is the fourth player to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP Tour World Finals to be held in November at the O2 Arena in London.
“It's great having now qualified for the Finals, and it's amazing I get to play in front of a home crowd again, it was such a good atmosphere there last year,” said Murray. “I thought they did a great job organising, especially as it was the first year at The O2, they put on a great event and I look forward to competing again.”
Reflecting on his match, Murray admitted he was nervous playing with a place at the O2 up for grabs. “I thought it [Chardy’s display] was very good. I hit the ball cleanly from the back of the court, not mis-hitting many balls. I moved better and served well when I needed to when I was down break points early in the match,” he said. “It was a big match for me because I knew if I won I qualified for London so that was why I was a little bit nervous.”
Murray joins world No.1 Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the event, and it is his third consecutive appearance at the venue. There are four places still available, and over the next few weeks they will be decided, and all the players who qualify will want to beat reigning champion Nikolay Davydenko.
Meanwhile, US Open runner-up Djokovic cruised past Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-1 in under an hour to reach the last eight as well, while World Finals hopeful Tomas Berdych suffered a blow as he lost to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also recorded a win, beating Florian Mayer 7-5, 6-3, to set up a clash with Murray in the quarter-finals.
Nadal failed to reach the last eight after losing to Jurgen Melzer 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 in a thrilling contest.
The current US Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion saved three match points but was unable to stop Melzer from recording the finest victory of his career.
“I think the key was that I played the best tennis of my life,” said Melzer. “I know when I go out there against Nadal that I have to be aggressive and hit my shots. I am very proud to have served it out.”
Federer progressed to the last eight as well. http://www.senore.com/Rafael-Nadal-loses-in-Shanghai-but-Roger-Federer-progresses-a33922
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