Andy Murray hailed his Davis Cup teammate, Kyle Edmund, as the future of British tennis on Friday after subduing a robust challenge from his potential young successor to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon Championships.
The class of world No. 2 Murray told in the third set as he eased away to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win in the first singles quarter-final of an ATP tour event to feature two British men since Tim Henman beat Greg Rusedski in Adelaide in 2002.
Yet Murray had seen enough of the 21-year-old, who helped Britain win the Davis Cup last season, to tell the crowd during an on-court interview afterward: “Obviously Kyle’s the future of the game in this country.”
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“It is important that he is given time to develop at his own rate and that too much pressure is not put on him. If he is given time and a little bit of space to keep developing, he can go very far,” Murray added.
Edmund, the world No. 85, who said Murray has been the inspiration in his development, produced a tremendous second set to illustrate his promise, but Murray moved up another gear to continue his assault on a record fifth Queen’s Club title.
With Wimbledon a little more than a week away, Murray had one scare when he slipped on the wet grass and fell awkwardly, but said afterward: “It was a bit of a shock at first, but I am fine.”
Murray now faces Croatia’s former Queen’s winner Marin Cilic, who beat American Steve Johnson 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4.
Milos Raonic’s new coaching link-up with John McEnroe took another smooth step forward, as the Canadian overpowered Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-1, 6-4 to set up the other semi-final against Bernard Tomic, who beat Gilles Muller 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-2.
GERRY WEBER OPEN
Reuters
Roger Federer delivered what he called his best match yet since returning from injury, as he eased to a 6-1, 7-6 (12/10) win over Belgium’s David Goffin to reach the semi-finals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, on Friday.
The Swiss great, who is seeking a ninth title in his traditional Wimbledon grass-court warm-up event, was to ensure he features in his 11th Halle final if he beat rising German talent Alexander Zverev later yesterday in their semi-final clash.
The top-seeded Federer, who is returning to fitness after missing the French Open with a back injury, raced away with the first set against the fifth seed, but completed victory in 1 hour, 21 minutes after saving five set points in the second.
“I thought it was my best match thus far,” Federer said. “It is a good win for me and I am clearly very happy to be in the semis.”
The 19-year-old Zverev continued his breakthrough season with a 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 win over Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.
Federer was impressed with his young opponent, saying: “He has got a big serve, he has got a nice backhand, he is improving his forehand and he is moving forward. He is going to be a tough player in the future, no doubt about it.”
The other semi-final was to see third-seeded Austrian sensation Dominic Thiem, who is seeking his fifth title of the season, against German Florian Mayer, who beat Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in his quarter-final.
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