Sallydaisy
05-01-2013, 07:28
This is for the sleepy heads ........... and includes some of post-match comments.
;)
BRISBANE 2013, SEMI-FINAL - Andy Murray v Kei Nishikori
Andy's start to this match wasn't ideal and he seemed a bit slow out of the blocks.
Nishikori, however, hit the court running and raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set and, in his first Brisbane semifinal appearance, showed no signs of early jitters. He notched up a 3-0 advantage in just 10 minutes over the defending champion, after Murray uncharacteristically double faulted on break point in his first service game.
However, in game 7 and after an easy hold for 2-4, Andy tightened his famed defensive skills against the shot-making fifth seed, returning ball after ball deep into the court during a spectacular rally to put the set back on serve and holding his own serve for 4-4.
That game signalled a turnaround in the match as Murray dominated increasingly and took the next 4 games in a row and, from 1-4 down, notched up a 6'4 first set score and a lead of 2-0 in the 2nd after breaking Nishikori in the opening game of the set.
Following an injury time-out after the first set, for treatment to his left knee, Nishikori called it quits when trailing 6-4, 2-0.
Andy, who apparently was watching the opposing semifinal epic from the gym, will meet first-time finalist Grigor Dimitrov for the title tomorrow. Andy won their only encounter so far (Bangkok QF 2011) 6'4, 6'4 but he isn’t sure what to expect from the 21-year-old who has improved a lot since then and has now reached 4 Semi-Finals and hoping to finally win a title here.
“Grigor plays with a lot of variety and he can play a lot of shots. He’s one of the few guys coming through with a single-handed backhand as well, so he uses a lot more slice,” he said.
“From my point of view I hope there isn’t a few coming through because then it means I’ll be one of the ones losing out on my spot.”
“Everyone deals with certain situations differently. I have no idea whether he’ll be nervous tomorrow or he’ll enjoy the occasion. We’ll find out tomorrow.”
“I’ve served pretty well for the majority of the tournament and I’ve moved better every single match,” Murray said.
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As for Nishikori and that knee problem. He'd injured his knee during his quarterfinal win over Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov on Friday, and after worsening overnight, the world No.19 decided not to risk further injury and is hopeful he can defend his quarterfinal result at the Australian Open.
“I felt it yesterday against Dolgopolov and then this morning it was worse, but I decided to play,” Nishikori said. “I didn’t want to risk too much and so I decided to retire.” “I saw the doctor now and he said it’s not a big thing. There’s a bit of tendinitis and the patella is hurting, but just to take a couple of days off for a bit of treatment and hopefully it gets better.”
;)
BRISBANE 2013, SEMI-FINAL - Andy Murray v Kei Nishikori
Andy's start to this match wasn't ideal and he seemed a bit slow out of the blocks.
Nishikori, however, hit the court running and raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set and, in his first Brisbane semifinal appearance, showed no signs of early jitters. He notched up a 3-0 advantage in just 10 minutes over the defending champion, after Murray uncharacteristically double faulted on break point in his first service game.
However, in game 7 and after an easy hold for 2-4, Andy tightened his famed defensive skills against the shot-making fifth seed, returning ball after ball deep into the court during a spectacular rally to put the set back on serve and holding his own serve for 4-4.
That game signalled a turnaround in the match as Murray dominated increasingly and took the next 4 games in a row and, from 1-4 down, notched up a 6'4 first set score and a lead of 2-0 in the 2nd after breaking Nishikori in the opening game of the set.
Following an injury time-out after the first set, for treatment to his left knee, Nishikori called it quits when trailing 6-4, 2-0.
Andy, who apparently was watching the opposing semifinal epic from the gym, will meet first-time finalist Grigor Dimitrov for the title tomorrow. Andy won their only encounter so far (Bangkok QF 2011) 6'4, 6'4 but he isn’t sure what to expect from the 21-year-old who has improved a lot since then and has now reached 4 Semi-Finals and hoping to finally win a title here.
“Grigor plays with a lot of variety and he can play a lot of shots. He’s one of the few guys coming through with a single-handed backhand as well, so he uses a lot more slice,” he said.
“From my point of view I hope there isn’t a few coming through because then it means I’ll be one of the ones losing out on my spot.”
“Everyone deals with certain situations differently. I have no idea whether he’ll be nervous tomorrow or he’ll enjoy the occasion. We’ll find out tomorrow.”
“I’ve served pretty well for the majority of the tournament and I’ve moved better every single match,” Murray said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for Nishikori and that knee problem. He'd injured his knee during his quarterfinal win over Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov on Friday, and after worsening overnight, the world No.19 decided not to risk further injury and is hopeful he can defend his quarterfinal result at the Australian Open.
“I felt it yesterday against Dolgopolov and then this morning it was worse, but I decided to play,” Nishikori said. “I didn’t want to risk too much and so I decided to retire.” “I saw the doctor now and he said it’s not a big thing. There’s a bit of tendinitis and the patella is hurting, but just to take a couple of days off for a bit of treatment and hopefully it gets better.”