Dominic Thiem withstood some testing play from three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray en route to reaching the semi-finals of the China Open on Friday.
The world No.5 required almost two hours to see off his British rival 6-2, 7-6(3), in Beijing. In what was a high-quality match with both players hitting more winners than unforced errors, Thiem prevailed with the help of seven aces as he won 87% of his first service points.
“It was a great match from the beginning to the end.” Thiem told Tennis TV. “There was only really one bad game from me but against Andy you’re under pressure all the times in your service games because he is one of the best returners of all time.”
The French Open finalist didn’t have it all his way during his latest match. Illustrated best by the start when he required 11 minutes to break Murray. Both players produced some impressive tennis with Thiem’s power getting matched by Murray’s defensive play. However, Murray’s recent lack of match play due to injury was a key factor when taking on a player on Thiem’s calibre.
In the lead, Thiem seized the double break in the opener following a series of unforced errors from across the court. Enabling him to move ahead to 5-2 with the chance to serve the set out. However, Murray’s fighting spirit proved problematic for the Austrian, who saw four set points come and go. Nevertheless, he prevailed on his fifth after a Murray forehand slammed into the net.
It was a case of deja vu in the second frame with Thiem once again breaking immediately. Doing so after hitting a ball that brushed the top of the net and landed on Murray’s side. It looked as if that would be enough to get Thiem over the line, however, he faltered at the worst possible moment. Serving with a lead of 6-2, 5-4, three double faults followed by a forehand error enabled Murray to break back and level. Forcing proceedings into a tiebreaker.
Despite Thiem’s blip, he managed to regain control against a fiery Murray. Applying pressure onto his opponent, he secured a double break in the tiebreaker for a 4-1 lead. Enough of a margin for him to go on and close out the match. Doing so with a forehand cross-court winner.
“I think there were some really good points in the match, like at the beginning of the match some really good points [and] also at the end,” Murray told atptour.com. “I was a little bit unsure kind of how to go about the match at the beginning… I was feeling a little bit tired this morning. We talked about maybe, ‘If you are feeling that way, try to finish off some of the points’… I wasn’t that happy with the way I went about the match after the first game. I went a bit off track there at first, in terms of how I was playing. The week overall was good.”
Thiem will play Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals.
