Murray to face Tsitsipas in first quarter-final in six months
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Andy Murray defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) at the Stuttgart grass court tournament.
STUTTGART (AFP) - Andy Murray reached his first quarter-final in six months on Thursday as the unseeded Briton defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) at the Stuttgart grass court tournament.
Murray won the opening set against his Kazakh opponent but had to come from 5-2 down in the second to clinch the win.
The former world number one said his confidence is improving after defeating Bublik in one and three-quarter hours.
"It s nice to be back at this stage," said Murray who will take on top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the semi-finals.
"This was a solid win and I ll try and push through to the semis.
"When I was down in the second set it was frustrating, I was thinking of what I could do differently.
"He hit some great shots - but some that you wouldn t teach. The multiple drop shots were unexpected."
Murray s last appearance in the quarter-finals was in January when he reached the final in Sydney.
A win over Tsitsipas on Friday would push the 35-year-old closer to a return to the top 50 for the first time in more than four years.
Tsitsipas schooled Switzerland s former French Open champion Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-4 in a match interrupted by rain with the Greek up a set and 2-0.
World number five Tsitsipas won his only previous match with Murray last August in the US Open first round in a five-set duel.
Playing on a wild card, Tsitsipas managed only four aces against nine for world number 200 Stricker but broke the 19-year-old twice.
"My game is built for grass courts, I can 100 per cent have good results on this surface," Tsitsipas said. "But it might take a bit of time.
"I want to get the most out of my game and push it to the limit."
The 23-year-old, who has lost in the first round in three of four Wimbledon appearances, said Murray will be a tough opponent on the German grass courts.
"Andy is one one of the best grass players. He s been out injured but he s been getting some good wins against some of my peers," the Greek said.
"His game is absolutely there, he s one of the favourites here.
"He s had a lot of grass battles and a lot of good wins."
Nick Kyrgios needed almost two hours to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3 in chilly evening temperatures after another rain delay.
The Australian, who says he is limiting his season to 10 or 12 tournaments, was proud of how he fought back.
"I m proud of how I played, I ve had to deal with a lot off-court (airline baggage problems, rain delays)," he said.
"It was a tough day, but I was resilient, I put my head down, it was not easy.
"Basilashvili is a tough opponent, he s ranked 25 for a reason."
Kyrgios will play on Friday against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, a winner over Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3.
