ANDY MURRAY WINS EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE MATCH TO REACH NOTTINGHAM OPEN SEMI WITH VICTORY OVER DOMINIC STRICKER
Andy Murray made it eight wins in a row as he reached the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open with a win over Dominic Stricker on Friday.
Murray is coming off the back of his triumph in the Surbiton Trophy on Sunday, and has set up a semi-final against Portugal’s Nuno Borges, to be played on Saturday.
The 36-year-old is hoping to amass sufficient ranking points in order to reach the world top 32, to become seeded for this year’s Wimbledon tournament.
The Scot is also looking to find his best form after years of struggle following extensive hip surgery.
Speaking after his 7-6(7-2) 7-5 win, he said, referencing Heather Watson, Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter and reaching the semi-finals in Nottingham: “This week has been great and a couple of weeks ago we were hearing that British tennis is not doing well.
“You want all the players to reach their potential. Not everyone is going to win Wimbledon or a Grand Slam, but you want everyone to make the most of this opportunity to play tennis.
“The women have done really well and it should be a fun weekend for the British fans. It’s rare that we have so many players in the later stages of a tournament.”
Murray is currently seeded No. 44 in the world, and he has hit decent form, without dropping a set in his last two matches at Surbiton and his first two at Nottingham.
“It was a really tight match against one of the best young players in the world,” he added. “He has a really good game, huge shots from the back of the court and a nice touch at the net so I’m really glad to get through.
“That was the best I’ve played in the last two weeks in terms of how I hit the ball, so that’s really positive.”
France’s Arthur Cazaux faces Dominik Koepfer in Saturday’s other semi-final.
In the Stuttgart Open, Jan-Lennard Struff defeated experienced Frenchman Richard Gasquet in two sets.
Sending down 18 aces he dominated with his serve, and broke twice on his way to a 6-4 7-5 victory.
He will play Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-final in Germany on Saturday.
