Andy Murray sat in his changeover chair and sobbed into a towel after winning his third consecutive three-setter to reach the Citi Open quarterfinals.
Andy Murray sat in his changeover chair and sobbed into a towel after winning his third consecutive three-setter to reach the Citi Open quarterfinals.
Murray worked deep into the night to get past 93rd-ranked Marius Copil of Romania 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a match that ended just past 3 am.
If Murray came to Washington in hopes of getting in some extra work as he tries to return to form after hip surgery in January, he is certainly accomplishing that.
After rain delayed earlier action, three-time major champion Murray and Copil didn't even start playing until midnight as Thursday turned to Friday. By the end, there were 100 or so fans in the main stadium at the hard-court tuneup for the US Open.
After taking a 5-0 lead in the opening-set tiebreaker, Murray dropped seven consecutive points to hand the lead over to Copil.
Former No. 1-ranked Murray is now at No. 832. He returned from an 11-month absence in June, playing just three matches before arriving at the Citi Open.
In Friday's quarterfinals, he will face 19-year-old Alex de Minaur of Australia.
Earlier, Alexander Zverev got the better of older brother Mischa at the Citi Open, winning their first meeting at an ATP Tour event 6-3 7-5.
World No. 3 and top seed Alexander, 21, broke Mischa, 30, three times en route to a victory that sets up a quarter-final with seventh seed Kei Nishikori, who dispatched Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov 7-6(1) 6-3.
Meanwhile, second seed John Isner was upset by fellow American Noah Rubin 6-4 7-6(6) in the second round. Isner, last month's Atlanta Open champion, appeared fatigued during the match, perhaps owing to a busy July where he played 10 matches consisting of 34 sets and 403 total games.
The win over world number nine Isner was the 22-year-old Rubin's first over a top 10 opponent.
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