TENNIS ATP BEIJING – Martin Klizan pulled off the major upset of the quarter finals at the China Open in Beijing when he beat Rafael Nadal in three sets with 6-7(7) 6-4 6-3. Andy Murray beat US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-1 6-4 showing that he has returned to his best form. Murray set up a blockbuster semifinal against four-time China Open champion Novak Djokovic who beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4. Diego Sampaolo
ATP 500 China Open in Beijing
Martin Klizan fought back from a set and a break down to upset Rafa Nadal with 6-7(7) 6-4 6-3 in a match with a lot of turns and twists. Qualifier Klizan went down a break in both the second and the third sets. Nadal, who has come back from a 13-week lay-off due to a wrist injury, has lost his first match against a qualifier since 2004 when Julien Benneteau beat him in Lyon.
Klizan wasted a break lead when he dropped his serve while he was serving for the first set at 5-4 Klizan served for the first set at 5-4. The first set came down to the tie-break where Nadal rallied from 0-2 to win the opening set with 9-7 on the fourth set point.
Nadal looked to be in full control of the match when he broke serve in the third game and came close to taking a double break at 4-2. However Klizan reeled off five consecutive games including two breaks of serve
Nadal saved a break point in the second game of the third set before breaking serve to take a 3-2 lead in the fifth game. However he was broken back to love in the next game. Klizan reeled off 16 points to 2 from the sixth game before clinching the win on the first match point in two hours and 37 minutes with a forehand volley
Nadal hit 21 winners to 37 unforced errors. Klizan produced 33 winners and 30 unforced errors.
This result is impressive considering that in the first match of the qualifying round Klizan rallied from a 4-6 1-5 deficit against Xin Gao before taking the win after saving three match points.
Klizan won for the third time in his career against a top-10 player after beating Jo Wilfred Tsonga at the 2012 US Open and Kei Nishikori in the first round of the 2014 Roland Garros.
“Rafa is a big star. He is a big player. He was a set and a break up. I had nothing to do but I was just fighting. I am so proud of myself that I could win today. I am looking forward to playing the semifinal tomorrow. It’s my first semifinal in a ATP 500 tournament”, said Klizan.
Klizan will take on Tomas Berdych who beat John Isner 6-1 6-4. Berdych won 73 percent of his service points and broke serve three times. Berdych got a double break in the first set en route to taking the first set with 6-2. He got another break early in the second set. At 5-3 the Czech player failed to convert a match-point but he closed out the match on his serve a few minutes later.
Berdych beat Klizan some weeks ago at this year’s US Open in five sets.
Andy Murray cruised past 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in straight sets with 6-1 6-4. Murray played a solid match in which he broke three times en route to winning the opening set with 6-1. In the second set he got another break to clinch the win in one hour and 38 minutes
Murray broke the winning streak of Cilic who had won ten consecutive matches since his US Open triumph.
The Dunblane star got off to a great start in which he earned break point chances in all his service games en route to winning seven games in a row.
Murray faced a tougher challenge in the second set in which he had to fend off break point chances at 1-1 and 3-3. He created three match points when Cilic was serving at 4-5. He clinched the win on the second match point when Cilic hit a volley into the net. It was his 10th win in his 12 head-to-head matches against Cilic. Murray, winner last week in Shenzhen, has moved up one spot to ninth in the ATP Race to London boosting his chances to qualify for the ATP Finals in London.
Murray won 71 percent of his first serve points and capitalized on four of his eleven break point chances.
Murray will now face a re-match against Djokovic who beat the Scotsman in four sets in the quarter final of this year’s US Open. Djokovic lead 13-8 in his previous head-to-head matches against Murray.
Djokovic won his 22nd consecutive match in Beijing against Dimitrov who could not convert on any of the six break point chances in the first set.
Djokovic got a double break in the first set to cruise to a easy 6-2. The Bulgarian player fended off two match points when he was 2-5 before breaking back when Djokovic was serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set. However Dimitrov made a double fault at 15-40 in the 10th game allowing the Serbian player to get another break to seal the win in one hour and 29 minutes.
“It was pretty slow conditions because of the weather. It’s a bit cold today. I think it suited more to my style of the game. I was trying to mix up the pace, give him high balls to the backhand. The second set was up and down but generally it was a good performance”, said Djokovic.
