Dominic Thiem is on the brink of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth successive year after advancing to the China Open semi-finals on Friday.
In a high-quality encounter, the top-seeded Austrian wore down the gutsy performance of former World No. 1 Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6(3) in one hour and 55 minutes.
Should Thiem beat Karen Khachanov in Beijing on Saturday, the 26-year-old will join Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Thiem is currently fifth in the 2019 ATP Race To London on 4,025 points - 850 points behind fourth-placed Medvedev (4,875).
Thiem first broke serve in a 14-point opening game with a drop shot winner, and did so for a second time at 4-2 in the first set. The Austrian closed out the opener on his fifth set point opportunity when Murray hit a forehand into the net. Thiem hit 16 winners in the 50-minute set, committing just seven unforced errors.
Thiem carried the momentum, and, when a forehand dropped dead after hitting the net cord on break point in the first game, it was a big blow for Murray. At 5-4, Thiem wobbled when first serving for the match, hitting three double faults in four points to drop to 15/40.
Murray capitalised to keep alive their fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, but Thiem soon raised his game and won five of the first six points in the tie-break. The Austrian won 40 of 46 first-service points (87 per cent) for a place in his seventh tour-level semi-final of the year.
Murray, who was competing in his first ATP Tour quarter-final for 12 months (2018 Shenzhen), underwent his second right hip surgery on 28 January and missed five months of the 2019 season.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2OtRpqr
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