Thursday, April 14, 2016
Murray rallies from a set and 3-0 down to beat Paire in Monte Carlo
MONACO (AP) Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal saved 15 of 17 break points, and Andy Murray rallied from a set and 3-0 down Thursday as both advanced to the quarterfinals at the Monte Carlo Masters.
The fifth-seeded Nadal scampered around the clay to retrieve booming forehands before beating Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-3. Murray came back to defeat an erratic Benoit Paire 2-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Nadal, arguably the greatest clay-court player in history, struggled in the first set against Thiem, facing 16 of the 17 break points.
With the score 4-4 - and with each player having dropped serve once - Thiem missed six chances to break Nadal in the ninth game. On the last one, Thiem let a lob go thinking it was going out, and watched it land in.
The Spaniard clenched his fist after holding that tough game, and then broke Thiem when the Austrian double-faulted on set point.
Although Thiem broke Nadal to love in the third game of the second set for a 2-1 lead, Nadal quickly regained momentum and broke Thiem two more times to set up a quarterfinal match against fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 champion.
Murray had even closer match, but he also managed to reach the quarterfinals, winning 19 of 29 points at the net.
''To win when you're not playing particularly well, it's a great effort,'' Murray said. ''It would have been easy to lose today and get down on myself. But I kept fighting right the way through.''
Paire had 47 winners among a number of eye-catching shots, but the 16th-seeded Frenchman also made 52 unforced errors. He had eight aces and seven double-faults.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Djokovic seeks sixth Miami Open title against Nishikori
In sweltering semifinal sunshine Friday, Djokovic won a thrilling tiebreaker to beat David Goffin 7-6 (5), 6-4. The margin was so slim a blown overhead by Goffin might have made all the difference.
Djokovic needs one more victory to match Andre Agassi's tournament record of six men's titles, which is why he showed his affection for the court.
"A little kiss for goodbye and see you in two days," Djokovic said. "I wanted to make the court feel my love. It's one of my favorite courts."
His opponent Sunday will be steady Kei Nishikori, who committed only eight unforced errors in 119 points and beat big-swinging Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-5.
Seeded No. 6, Nishikori saved five match points in a quarterfinal victory over Gael Monfils, and built a more comfortable margin against Kyrgios by breaking serve four times.
Nishikori is bidding for his first ATP Masters title, while Djokovic will try for his 28th, which would break the record he shares with Rafael Nadal.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
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