TennisNH

Murray Topples Sinner In Stockholm Stunner

10-Nov-2021 19:51:00 | ATP World Tour

Andy Murray claimed his second Top 10 win of the year in dramatic fashion as he took down top seed Jannik Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3 on Wednesday to move into the Stockholm Open quarter-finals.

The victory over World No. 10 Sinner was Murray’s second win over a Top 10 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, after he also defeated No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz in Vienna.

In a match packed with lengthy all-court rallies and fascinating angles, Murray managed to stave off the only break point he faced to close out Sinner in two hours and 10 minutes.

“It was a very tough match. He hits the ball huge from the back of the court so there were a lot of long rallies and a lot of running. But it’s probably my best win this season. I want to keep it going now,” Murray said in a post-match interview.

Top seed Sinner, who will serve as first alternate after narrowly missing direct qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals, was not able to make many inroads into Murray’s serve as he let a break point slip away in the opening set. Murray outlasted Sinner in a tie-break after 74 minutes, and held firm in the second to take his spot in the quarter-finals.

Murray’s victory wasn’t the only upset of the day in Stockholm. Tommy Paul also knocked off a seed after defeating his good friend and doubles partner, fifth-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4. Paul will meet Murray in the quarter-finals for the first time.

US Open quarter-finalist Botic van de Zandschulp also defeated No. 7 Marton Fucsovics, weathering 10 aces from the Hungarian to win 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5.