Jason Kubler pushed two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray exhausting however in the end missed out on reaching the semi-finals of the Surbiton Trophy.
Instead, Murray fought again from a set down on Friday to achieve the final 4, the place he’ll meet Jordan Thompson, who edged an all-Australian conflict in opposition to Rinky Hijikata.
Thompson, the reigning champion on this a part of southwest London, beat Hijikata 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 in his quarter-final.
Murray, 36, scrapped his well beyond Kubler 3-6 6-3 6-4 as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon subsequent month however was given a tricky exercise by the Queenslander.
“I knew it was going to be hard,” stated Murray. “He plays very well on the grass – he made the fourth round of Wimbledon last year and beat some really good players along the way.
“He performed effectively. He has a whole lot of selection in his sport, he strikes effectively. He was top-of-the-line juniors on the earth however has had some points with accidents. He’s doing very effectively now – all the time powerful to play in opposition to.”
Both Murray and Kubler, 30, battled at a high intensity despite a gusting wind and in hot, sunny conditions.
Kubler’s fast serve paid dividends as he took an early 3-2 lead and eventually clinched the opening set 6-3.
The players were locked at 3-3 in the second when Murray took charge with a six-game winning streak.
Too often, the No.2 seed’s precision proved decisive or forced an error at the end of a numerous long rallies and Murray clinched the second set with an ace.
He then won the first 10 points of the third set, and although Kubler was one point from pulling a game back, Murray came out on top after a series of long rallies and stormed into a 3-0 lead.
Kubler was forced to take a medical break for treatment on his lower back, but returned with some fizzing forehands to claw the score back to 3-2.
But he couldn’t make further inroads on the Murray serve and the Scot served out comfortably to take the third set 5-4.
Saturday’s second semi-final might be between Germany’s Jurij Rodionov and Zizou Bergs, of Belgium.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
