Murray fights his way into Antwerp final

By for MurraysWorld.com on
Andy Murray moved into his first ATP singles final in over two years on Saturday, with a 3-6 7-5 6-2 win against Ugo Humbert.



This stubborn win followed another three set battle against Marius Copil in the quarterfinals on Friday night, though Murray let slip a winning position in the second set there.

Saturday’s comeback win began with Murray showing signs of tiredness after his exertions of the recent days and weeks.

The Scot struggled on serve and Humbert seized his break chance to move into a one set lead.

A break apiece in the second saw the set heading towards a tiebreak, but Murray pounced at the ideal time to level things up.

The former world number one then pulled away to victory as his serving performance improved late on.

Though Murray will be frustrated with his inability to close out the second set against Copil on Friday, as well as with falling behind to Humbert today, both matches did show flashes of his vintage all-court hustle and shot-making.

In Sunday’s final, Murray will play his old off-court friend and familiar on-court foe Stan Wawrinka.
Thanks for the combined report Joe.  Win or lose against Stan (and I expect the latter due to fatigue) I'd hope that Andy will be well satisfied with his  performances this week, particularly as he said himself he never expected to get this far so soon after his hip op - and let's face it, neither did his fans.  Still a lot of work to be done of course, particularly his serve, but at least it offers cautious optimism for the 2020 season.
October 19, 2019, 10:13 pm
By Aileen

Well done Andy , Always fantastic news to hear
Of a Win. Did not see the match but
overjoyed to see the result.

Most importantly I hope you are enjoying
the challenge . Good Luck .
October 19, 2019, 10:37 pm
By merlynne

Andy's had a good week, good luck today  yay

Thanks for your report Joe Smile
October 20, 2019, 06:22 am
By moonglow

Thanks for the combined report Joe.  Win or lose against Stan (and I expect the latter due to fatigue) I'd hope that Andy will be well satisfied with his  performances this week, particularly as he said himself he never expected to get this far so soon after his hip op - and let's face it, neither did his fans.  Still a lot of work to be done of course, particularly his serve, but at least it offers cautious optimism for the 2020 season.

I agree with you (also thank you Joe) that to expect Andy to win the final is  too much as he will be low on energy left after his last two matches. I watched only from when he was midway in second set as i had internet issues away from home.
I did think he would win yesterday but too frightened to expect it as that was beyond my limit as to where he would be after a long run of tennis. I was balancing the problems of stamina, movement and match practice after a long period away from this standard of play.
Now that he is in the final I know that he will really try to pull something off. He may forget his caution and 'go for it'  as after today he will be resting and with Kim for a few weeks. Stan has been inconsistent since his injuries so the result will, most likely, be dependant on his play not Andy's.
I am just so pleased that Andy has made it back to a level where he seems to be relishing his 'day job' again without the pain. He has hardly mentioned his hip this week. I am hoping that he will be chosen to play Davis Cup in Madrid or at least be there for the team. Is it on clay?
October 20, 2019, 07:42 am
By marathonarthur

Thanks Joe. An excellent win against an opponent playing at the top of his game, when Andy clearly wasn't.
October 20, 2019, 07:47 am
By blueberryhill

Thanks for the report Joe, spot on with the 'stubborn win' comment. Well done to Andy for getting to the final, I know he will try to win this.
October 20, 2019, 09:21 am
By ChrisMac

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