LONDON: Defending champion Andy Murray survived a stern test from Kyle Edmund to reach the Queen’s Club semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over the British wildcard on Friday.
Murray will play Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the last four on Saturday in a rematch of the 2013 final at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
But the world No.2 had to dig deep to remain on course for a record fifth Queen’s crown after a lacklustre first two sets against an inexperienced 21-year-old ranked 83 places below him.
Murray had waited 10 years to face a British opponent until he beat Aljaz Bedene in the second round on Thursday and just 24 hours later the top seed was taking on another compatriot in the promising Edmund.
It was the first all-British Queen’s Club quarter-final in the Open era and the first last eight showdown between two Brits on the ATP Tour since Tim Henman defeated Greg Rusedski in Adelaide in 2002.
Murray looked set to take control when he broke for an early 2-1 lead.
Former US Open champion Cilic battled back to defeat American Steve Johnson 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 in the day’s first quarter-final as the fifth seed advanced to the Queen’s semifinals for the third time.
“I really enjoy playing here. Grass suits my game and when I’m in good form I can always play really well,” Cilic said.
“I’m looking forward to Saturday’s match. It’s going to be probably a little bit of a crowd against me, but I’m going to enjoy that.”
Federer ousts Goffin
World No.3 Roger Federer beat Belgium’s David Goffin 6-1, 7-6 (12/10) on Friday to qualify for the ATP Halle semifinals.
The Swiss veteran, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, is seeking a ninth title in the Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle, and fourth on the trot on the German grass.
Top seed Federer will play Alexander Zverev in Saturday’s last four after the young German beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 earlier on Friday.
Austria’s Dominic Thiem, the No.3 seed, is also through to the semifinals after German Philipp Kohlschreiber pulled out of their quarterfinal.
Kerber fights back
Defending champion Angelique Kerber made a typically tenacious comeback from a set down and a day’s delay to reach the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham on Friday.
She did it with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Daria Gavrilova, an improving young world number 50 from Australia who ended yesterday’s rain-ruined schedule within two points of snatching the first set.
She duly did that on Friday, capturing Kerber’s service game, which restarted with the titleholder 0-30 down.
But thereafter the German displayed admirable motivation in still-damp conditions and found a good rhythm with solid ground-stroke hitting.
Murray will play Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the last four on Saturday in a rematch of the 2013 final at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
But the world No.2 had to dig deep to remain on course for a record fifth Queen’s crown after a lacklustre first two sets against an inexperienced 21-year-old ranked 83 places below him.
Murray had waited 10 years to face a British opponent until he beat Aljaz Bedene in the second round on Thursday and just 24 hours later the top seed was taking on another compatriot in the promising Edmund.
It was the first all-British Queen’s Club quarter-final in the Open era and the first last eight showdown between two Brits on the ATP Tour since Tim Henman defeated Greg Rusedski in Adelaide in 2002.
Murray looked set to take control when he broke for an early 2-1 lead.
Former US Open champion Cilic battled back to defeat American Steve Johnson 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 in the day’s first quarter-final as the fifth seed advanced to the Queen’s semifinals for the third time.
“I really enjoy playing here. Grass suits my game and when I’m in good form I can always play really well,” Cilic said.
“I’m looking forward to Saturday’s match. It’s going to be probably a little bit of a crowd against me, but I’m going to enjoy that.”
Federer ousts Goffin
World No.3 Roger Federer beat Belgium’s David Goffin 6-1, 7-6 (12/10) on Friday to qualify for the ATP Halle semifinals.
The Swiss veteran, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, is seeking a ninth title in the Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle, and fourth on the trot on the German grass.
Top seed Federer will play Alexander Zverev in Saturday’s last four after the young German beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 earlier on Friday.
Austria’s Dominic Thiem, the No.3 seed, is also through to the semifinals after German Philipp Kohlschreiber pulled out of their quarterfinal.
Kerber fights back
Defending champion Angelique Kerber made a typically tenacious comeback from a set down and a day’s delay to reach the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham on Friday.
She did it with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Daria Gavrilova, an improving young world number 50 from Australia who ended yesterday’s rain-ruined schedule within two points of snatching the first set.
She duly did that on Friday, capturing Kerber’s service game, which restarted with the titleholder 0-30 down.
But thereafter the German displayed admirable motivation in still-damp conditions and found a good rhythm with solid ground-stroke hitting.
