Murray Out in Madrid
While the quarterfinal action of the Mutua Madrid Open picks up later today, eighth-ranked Andy Murray will be absent from the field as the Wimbledon champion was knocked out in the third round in Madrid Thursday by Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-2. Murray struggled from the beginning, committing a number of errors throughout the match that he was never able to recover from. The Columbian qualifier Giraldo notched his first career win against a Top 10 opponent.
Giraldo is one of the fastest rising stars in the tennis game today, and proved it as such with his convincing and relatively easy victory over Murray. He smashed 16 winners and had the help of Murray’s 24 unforced errors.
The English Wimbledon champion said that he has played inconsistent since he split with coach Ivan Lendl, but gave credit to Giraldo for his play.
“He played very well from start to finish; didn’t make many mistakes,” said Murray. “I didn’t make it hard enough for him in the second set. Towards the end, I didn’t put enough pressure on him to force him to make errors. He dictated most of the points and deserved to win.”
Giraldo now moves on to face Roberto Bautista Agut for a spot in the semis. Agut knocked off Lucky Loser Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 6-2. The two will be making their first quarterfinal appearances.
Later on Friday, three of the world’s 10 best players will be in action as Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych will all take the court in Madrid.
