Andy Murray might be lacking match experience and still have an ATP Ranking south of 300. But the Scot has not forgotten how to beat Belgian David Goffin.
Murray, in the biggest win of his comeback so far, swept past the top seed and defending champion 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday at the Shenzhen Open. The former World No. 1 improved to 6-0 against Goffin, No. 11 in the ATP Rankings, and earned his first Top 15 victory since the 2017 Roland Garros, when he beat then-No. 9 Kei Nishikori.
“I felt like in terms of the way I hit the ball, it was the best I've played, and I think I knew that I was going to have to hit the ball very well if I wanted to win,” Murray said. “I love the conditions that we play in. Usually it's quite humid, and the courts are a little bit faster than what we usually play on the tour. The conditions that I like are fast courts with slow balls, and with the humidity, that slows the ball down a little bit. I feel like I'm able to control the ball very well here.”
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Murray, in his second quarter-final of 2018 (Washington), will face either Japan's Taro Daniel or Fernando Verdasco of Spain. The Brit owns a 13-2 advantage in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Verdasco, but the Spanish left-hander beat Murray the last time they played, during the second round of the US Open.
Murray broke for a 4-1 lead in the opener against Goffin and served out the set to 30. In the second, the Scot was in the zone, breaking during his first three opportunities and leading 5-1.
But Goffin, who won two titles during the Asian swing last year (Shenzhen, Tokyo), fought back. He broke when Murray first attempted to serve out the match during the eighth game and had three more break opportunities in the 10th game before Murray closed out the second-round contest.
“I know David's been struggling a little bit with his serve, with his shoulder the last month, month and a half. So I was able to get a lot of returns back in play, put a lot of pressure on his service games. I served pretty well myself,” Murray said.
The 31-year-old Murray, No. 311 in the ATP Rankings, underwent hip surgery on 8 January and was playing only his 11th match of the season (7-4). He has already announced that next week's China Open in Beijing will be his final tournament of 2018.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2Om9LJY
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