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ATP Beijing: Murray sets up Queens rematch with Edmund

Jake Davies
Tennis

 

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By Jake Davies

  • Andy Murray [1] defeats Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2 6-1
  • Murray faces Kyle Edmund in the Quarter-Finals of the China Open.
BEIJING, CHINA – Andy Murray faces Kyle Edmund for the second time this year when they meet in the China Open quarter-final.

 

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Andy Murray [1] defeats Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2 6-1

Murray came through a bizarre match against the Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in just over an hour and booked his place into the China Open quarter-finals. Kuznetsov promised a lot in the opening exchanges as he stayed in contention with Great Britain’s best player, but his inability to find any security on his service games cost him the match.

Despite losing his serve on two occasions at the beginning of the match, Murray rolled through the  remainder of the set with little hassle as Kuznetsov struggled to muster up the consistency required to beat a World No.2 ranked player.

The Briton played far from his best tennis but still managed to break the Kuznetsov serve with regularity throughout the entirety – Kuznetsov failed to hold serve once as Murray had his way with the Russian’s first and second serves. Murray now looks ahead to an intriguing all-British quarter-final against rising star Kyle Edmund on Friday in Beijing.

 

Andy Murray [1] vs Kyle Edmund [Q] H2H: Murray leads 1-0

It is a mouthwatering prospect to see two of Great Britain’s best players in action on Friday, especially considering it is at the latter stages of a big event on the ATP calendar. Edmund gave Murray a run for his money when they met at Queens Club earlier this year, and now the improving Edmund has even more experience to draw upon in the build up to this match.

Edmund has had some fantastic wins this week, coming through qualifying, beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and getting his second Top 20 win by beating No.18 ranked Roberto Bautista Agut in his second round match in Beijing. Bautista Agut makes every player work extremely hard for their victories, so it speaks volumes to the development of Edmund’s physical capabilities that he could outlast Bautista Agut in a Best-of-3 match.

Murray is the obvious favourite. If Edmund’s backhand is not firing on all cylinders then Murray will exploit Edmund’s limitations immediately. It will be an interesting watch as we witness just how near or far Edmund is from some of the best players. Some have touted Edmund to be a future star of the game and now he gets another shot at Britain’s best – Murray.

Prediction: Murray in two sets.

 

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