(Stuttgart) Andy Murray, ex-world number one, is well and truly back: he qualified for the final of the Stuttgart grass tournament on Saturday, after a semi-final marked by unsportsmanlike behavior of his opponent Nick Kyrgios, beaten 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
Posted at 11:57 a.m.
Currently 68e world, the Scot will meet the Italian Matteo Berrettini on Sunday (10e), which eliminated the German Oscar Otte (61e) 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5).
The match between Murray and Kyrgios was exciting for just over an hour, the time of a fierce first set, where the Australian was very strong on his own service games, while the Briton had to fight for win his own.
Murray managed to hang on, to reach the tiebreaker. He then made his opponent give in to pocket the first set 7-6 (7-5).
Then Kyrgios lost his temper early in the second run. He broke his racquet and had a rather heated verbal exchange with a group of spectators, which earned him first a point penalty, then finally a play by the referee.
Photo Tom Weller, Associated Press
Nick Kyrgios
From there, the whimsical Australian visibly dropped the match, to the chagrin of the large crowd.
“The second set wasn’t very fun to play, to be honest it wasn’t very hard fought,” admitted Murray, “it wasn’t really a match anymore.”
“The first set was tough, and it was the end of the first set that was the crucial moment of the game”, analyzed Murray, 35, winner of three Grand Slam tournaments in his career, finalist in Sydney this year in January, but who has not won a circuit event since October 2019 in Antwerp.
Faced with Berrettini, he will not be a favorite. “Berrettini is a great player on grass, he won the Queens tournament last year and was a runner-up at Wimbledon,” said Murray, who will play the 10e grass-court final of his career.
The Italian has returned to competition in Stuttgart after three months off due to surgery on his right hand. He hasn’t won a tournament since Queens in June 2021.