Top-Seeded Ferrer Eliminated From Shenzen; Murray Cruises

September 25, 2014 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Ferrer_Crop
Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Top-seeded David Ferrer was bounced from the Shenzhen Open in the second-round on Thursday, falling to Serbia’s Viktor Troicki 3-6, 4-6 in a match that lasted a little over an hour.

Fresh off a successful campaign on the ATP Challenger Tour, the 28-year-old Serb was taking on Ferrer for the fourth time in his career. He ripped 13 aces and notched two break points to dispose of the Spaniard, who was seeking to up his point total in the Emirates ATP Race to London where he currently ranks seventh. Troicki picked up his first top 10 win since beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Bangkok five years ago.

“David is a great fighter, a great player,” said the 28-year old Troicki. “He always gives his best. It’s amazing to beat him because I’ve never had a chance before. This was maybe a better surface for me, but it’s great to beat him. It’s special for me.”

He now moves into a quarterfinal matchup with sixth-seeded Santiago Giraldo. The 26-year-old Colombian pushed his way into his seventh quarterfinal this year with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Troicki is seeking his first semifinal appearance since Moscow in 2011.

“I don’t want to stop here,” he said. “I think I’m playing good. I’ll go match by match and try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

The tournament’s second seed, Andy Murray, had no trouble in his match Thursday. Playing in his first match since a quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic in the US Open, the Scot knocked off Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 6-3 to move into the quarters.

Like Ferrer, Murray came into this tournament seeking good results in order to boost his point total towards the end of the year finals. He is currently on the outside looking in as he is ranked 11th, while just the top 8 qualify.

He converted 82 percent of his first service points and notched four break points to control the match.

“I thought I did pretty well. He makes very few mistakes. He’s a very solid player and moves well,” said Murray of Devvarman. “It was very humid out there. It was good to have a tough workout like that.”

In the quarters, Murray will take on Slovakian Lukas Lacko who defeated Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 7-6(1) in his match Thursday.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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