Janko Tipsarevic delighted on his opening day victory at Abu Dhabi event – Tennis News
World number nine, Janko Tipsarevic, outplayed the reigning world number three, Andy Murray of Great Britain, in the opening encounter of Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Thursday’s eve. Although it was an exhibition matchup,
the Serb winner was extremely delighted and cited that overcoming Murray has made his day a memorable one.
No one was expecting Tipsarevic to overwhelm Murray in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, but it was an all round performance from the ninth ranked Serb which totally caught the Briton by surprise. Tipsarevic took a positive start in the
opening set and kept coming hard at his opponent until he succumbed in the second set. He took one hour and 24 minutes to wrap up the proceedings.
"It's not every day that you get to play a Grand Slam champion and an Olympic gold medalist," said Tipsarevic in his post match reviews. "I know it's an early-season tournament, but I can tell you that the six of us take this very
seriously."
"I knew I could beat Andy as I have beaten him before," he added. "He's a totally different animal now as he won a Grand Slam and Olympic gold, so beating him here has given me confidence."
Tipsarevic has been in the elite Top-10 rankings throughout the 2012 ATP World Tour and is capable of hunting down superior ranked opponents every now and then. He was rated as an underdog in Thursday’s matchup against the current
US Open champion. However, the 28-year-old veteran beat all the overpowering odds to stamp his authority on the game. Murray was expected to put forth far better performance with his racket but he seemed extremely rusty and out of touch throughout the contest.
The Serbian number two, Tipsarevic, will next take on the world number 11, Nicolas Almagro, in the semi-final clash of Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Almagro was called in as a late replacement for the world number four, Rafael
Nadal, who pulled out of the event at the last moment due to a stomach bug. The other semi-final of the event features the world number one, Novak Djokovic, and the Spanish number two, David Ferrer, on Friday.
Tags: