Andy Murray
(May 9, 2017) No. 1 Andy Murray opened his Madrid Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over wild card No. 104th ranked Marius Copil of Romania to move into the third round on Tuesday. The Scot is a two-time winner of the title in 2008 and 2015.
“I found it difficult to start,” Murray said. “I haven’t practiced out there. Well, we practiced out there for 25 minutes before the match, this morning at like 11:00. That had been it.
“It was very lively out there. It was probably the hottest it’s been since we’ve been here. Found it a bit difficult at the beginning to adjust to the conditions. Also never played him before. He serves big, comes forward a bit, uses dropshots. It was tricky.
“But when I started to control the points more towards the end of the first set and second set, you know, I was hitting the ball pretty clean, creating a few chances. I didn’t give him any opportunities.
“It was good for the first match.”
Murray, who had been nursing an elbow injury syas that he’s trying to get back into form: “I don’t think I’m playing perfectly just now. I think there’s just things I can definitely do better.
“But, you know, the most positive thing about tonight was that I feel like I can serve a little bit better than I did today.
“I had no breakpoints against me. That was something that obviously I’d struggled on serve a bit, especially the last couple of tournaments. So to not give up any breakpoints in the first match was good.
“I think the altitude does also help a bit with that. It’s a good sign for me that my serve is getting better. Hopefully that continues that way.
“When I serve well, the rest of my game tends to follow. It’s an important part of the game for me. You know, when I can get a lot of free points on my first serve, put a lot of pressure on my opponent’s service games, you know, it really helps my game a lot.
“That was the most important thing for me today.”
Wednesday’s schedule will include No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who recently parted ways with his coaching team and four-time winner Rafael Nadal who is dealing with an ear infection an asked for a later start in the tournament.
RESULTS – TUESDAY, 9 MAY 2017
Singles – Second Round
[1] A. Murray (GBR) d [WC] M. Copil (ROU) 64 63
[8] D. Thiem (AUT) d [LL] J. Donaldson (USA) 63 64
[9] D. Goffin (BEL) d F. Mayer (GER) 76(3) 60
Singles – First Round
[Q] P. Herbert (FRA) d [13] L. Pouille (FRA) 76(5) 67(4) 63
[LL] B. Coric (CRO) d M. Zverev (GER) 63 76(5)
I. Karlovic (CRO) d R. Bautista Agut (ESP) 76(4) 67(9) 76(7) – saved 4 M.P.
B. Paire (FRA) d P. Carreno Busta (ESP) 63 64
A. Zverev (GER) d F. Verdasco (ESP) 75 63
G. Muller (LUX) d [PR] T. Haas (GER) 64 76(7)
R. Harrison (USA) d B. Tomic (AUS) 75 46 62
D. Schwartzman (ARG) d A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 61 63
[WC] N. Almagro (ESP) d [WC] T. Robredo (ESP) 63 36 61
Doubles – Second Round
[1] H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS) d O. Marach (AUT) / M. Pavic (CRO) 46 64 14-12
N. Kyrgios (AUS) / J. Sock (USA) d [5] R. Klaasen (RSA) / R. Ram (USA) 64 64
Doubles – First Round
J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) d [WC] D. Marrero (ESP) / T. Robredo (ESP) 63 62
F. Martin (FRA) / D. Nestor (CAN) d R. Bopanna (IND) / P. Cuevas (URU) 63 62
SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2017
MANOLO SANTANA start 12:00 noon
WTA – [WC] L. Arruabarrena (ESP) vs A. Sevastova (LAT)
ATP – [WC] N. Almagro (ESP) vs [2] N. Djokovic (SRB)
ATP – F. Fognini (ITA) vs [4] R. Nadal (ESP)
Not Before 8:00 pm
WTA – [1] A. Kerber (GER) vs E. Bouchard (CAN)
Not Before 9:30 pm
ATP – [3] S. Wawrinka (SUI) vs B. Paire (FRA)
ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO start 12:00 noon
ATP – [6] K. Nishikori (JPN) vs D. Schwartzman (ARG)
ATP – D. Ferrer (ESP) vs [10] J. Tsonga (FRA)
ATP – G. Simon (FRA) vs F. Lopez (ESP)
ATP – [LL] B. Coric (CRO) vs [Q] P. Herbert (FRA)
ATP – A. Zverev (GER) vs [7] M. Cilic (CRO)
ESTADIO 3 start 12:00 noon
ATP – [5] M. Raonic (CAN) vs G. Muller (LUX)
Not Before 2:00 pm
WTA – C. Vandeweghe (USA) vs C. Suárez Navarro (ESP)
WTA – [16] S. Stosur (AUS) vs [3] S. Halep (ROU)
WTA – [Q] O. Dodin (FRA) vs [14] K. Mladenovic (FRA)
Not Before 8:00 pm
ATP – [12] G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs I. Karlovic (CRO)
PISTA 4 start 12:00 noon
ATP – [16] N. Kyrgios (AUS) vs R. Harrison (USA)
WTA – [Q] Q. Wang (CHN) vs [8] S. Kuznetsova (RUS)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA – K. Bertens (NED) vs I. Begu (ROU)
WTA – [WC] S. Cirstea (ROU) vs M. Doi (JPN)
ATP – F. Martin (FRA) / D. Nestor (CAN) vs [2] B. Bryan (USA) / M. Bryan (USA)
PISTA 5 start 12:00 noon
ATP – [Alt] B. Baker (USA) / N. Monroe (USA) vs [4] L. Kubot (POL) / M. Melo (BRA)
ATP – [11] T. Berdych (CZE) vs R. Haase (NED)
ATP – P. Cuevas (URU) vs N. Mahut (FRA)
ATP – [3] J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA) vs J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL)
ATP – R. Haase (NED) / A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) vs [6] N. Mahut (FRA) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
PISTA 6 start 12:00 noon
WTA – A. Groenefeld (GER) / K. Peschke (CZE) vs G. Dabrowski (CAN) / Y. Xu (CHN)
Not Before 5:00 pm
WTA – After rest – [6] L. Hradecka (CZE) / K. Siniakova (CZE) vs S. Stosur (AUS) / S. Zhang (CHN)
PISTA 7 start 12:00 noon
WTA – TBA based on result – [WC] L. Arruabarrena (ESP) / S. Sorribes Tormo (ESP) vs [5] T. Babos (HUN) / A. Hlavackova (CZE)
WTA – TBA based on result – [1] B. Mattek-Sands (USA) / L. Safarova (CZE) vs K. Bertens (NED) / J. Larsson (SWE)