Andy Murray successfully completed the first part of his hectic Queen’s Club schedule as the world No. 3 reached the final with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki yesterday.
Heavy rain on Saturday had forced the suspension of Murray’s semi-final in the first set and left the Scot needing to do double duty yesterday to win the Wimbledon warm-up event for a record-equaling fourth time.
The 28-year-old was due to be playing his fourth Queen’s final — and his first final on grass since his historic Wimbledon triumph in 2013 — when he faced South Africa’s Kevin Anderson later yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
It was to be Murray’s 50th ATP Tour final and his fifth of a season which has included titles in Madrid and Munich, as well as runners-up finishes at the Australian Open and the Miami Masters.
Anderson would be well rested after blitzing his way into his first Queen’s final with 34 aces in a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 win over French seventh seed Gilles Simon on Saturday, taking his tally for the tournament to 96, but Murray was not too concerned about his busy schedule as he has already won twice in a day this year, seeing off Lukas Rosol and Roberto Bautista Agut to clinch the Munich title last month.
“I’ll see my physio, get stretched out, get some food and shower. I enjoy playing big servers. My return has always been the strongest part of my game,” Murray said.
Murray has now won all seven of his meetings with Troicki, who was unable to exact revenge for some scathing criticism from the Scot over his refusal to take a drugs test in 2013.
Branded “unprofessional” by Murray and given an 18-month ban that was eventually reduced to a year, Troicki has managed to rebuild his career impressively, rising to world No. 25 and reaching the Stuttgart final the previous weekend.
However, Murray was beginning to dictate the tempo on Saturday before the rain arrived at 3-3, just after Troicki needed a medical timeout when his shoulder had popped out and back in again after a stumble.
On the resumption of play yesterday morning, Murray immediately broke with a fine drop-shot and then sublime lob on the run for a 4-3 lead.
Troicki looked tentative as he tested out his injury and a woefully miscued smash into the net was followed by a double fault to gift-wrap the first set for Murray.
The Scot had dropped just two points since the restart, but there were signs he may have got a little overconfident when he indulged in a rare spot of banter with the crowd, shouting: “Ta” in response to a cry of “good shot” from a spectator.
Soon after that, the two-time Grand Slam winner found himself in trouble as he drilled a backhand into the net to give Troicki a break in the fifth game.
The rude awakening jolted Murray back to his “A” game and he broke back for 4-4 when Troicki dumped a volley into net.
Murray had to stay on top form as a high-class second set peaked in the tiebreak when the Scot won a majestic match point to seal his morning’s work.
Anderson’s first final since Memphis in February was secured in 1 hour, 52 minutes.
“It’s going to be a big match. I’m really looking forward to it.,” Anderson said.
“Everybody knew Queen’s is the week before Wimbledon and you had the best players in the world playing it. To be in the final myself feels great,” he said.
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