Andy Murray beat Davis Cup teammate Kyle Edmund and David Ferrer dispatched German youngster Alexander Zverev as experience won out over youth in the China Open quarter-finals yesterday.
Tree-time Grand Slam champion Murray was forced into a tense 20-point tiebreak in the first set by his 21-year-old compatriot, finally clinching it with a forehand passing shot, but Edmund was unable to hold his serve in the second, conceding the match 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.
Zverev, 19, was looking to cap a breakout season with a second title in Beijing, but was unable to capitalize on his first-set lead as he was overpowered 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 7-5 by Ferrer.
The German upset Swiss world No. Stan Wawrinka to win his maiden ATP Tour title in St Petersburg, Russia, last month.
In the women’s singles, Madison Keys overpowered Petra Kvitova in their first meeting since the Czech denied the American a bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
It took 2 hours, 40 minutes, three sets and two tiebreaks for Keys to exact revenge over the double Wimbledon champion, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/5).
A double fault by Kvitova turned the first set in favor of Keys, but she pulled back in the second, pushing it to a tiebreak, which she won.
There was little between the pair in the final set, but Kvitova’s 32 unforced errors to Keys’ 25 ultimately cost the Czech a semi-final place.
“She made it really tough today. I’m just really happy that at the end I was able to get my serve back on track and get myself ahead in the tiebreaker,” Keys told reporters.
The big hitting youngster is also chasing her first qualification for the WTA Finals in Singapore.
With her quarter-final win she moves into seventh on the Race to Singapore leaderboard, but Britain’s Johanna Konta is hot on her heels and she needs to win the title in Beijing to clinch her spot.
Konta dismantled home favorite Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-0 in just 72 minutes in their quarter-final, while Elina Svitolina beat Daria Gavrilova of Australia 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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