BMW Open win eases Andy Murray back into action

ANDY Murray eased into the quarter-finals of the BMW Open in Munich with a 6-2, 6-2 win over home qualifier Mischa Zverev.
Andy Murray sprints for a ball during his secondround win over Mischa Zverev of Germany. Picture: GettyAndy Murray sprints for a ball during his secondround win over Mischa Zverev of Germany. Picture: Getty
Andy Murray sprints for a ball during his secondround win over Mischa Zverev of Germany. Picture: Getty

In his first match since getting married earlier this month, the Scot showed no ill-effects from his short break as he brushed aside Zverev in an hour and 15 minutes.

Murray, the top seed, who was handed a bye in the first round, broke Zverev in the first and third games to open up a 4-0 lead before serving out the first set.

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Two further breaks of serve were enough to do the job for the world No 3 who will now face Lukas Rosol in the next round, the Czech a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky.

“It wasn’t too easy,” Murray said afterwards.

“He had a different style to most other players and it was tricky playing against a left-hander, but I got the important points. He was returning from a long way back.

“My forehand went better than my backhand, but it was a good first match for me.”

Murray was back on court shortly after with doubles partner Jean-Julien Rojer of Holland and the pair completed a swift 6-2, 6-2 quarter-final win over Australia’s Rameez Junaid and Canadian Adil Shamasdin. There was disappointment for older brother Jamie Murray and Australian John Peers, though, as the second seeds lost 3-6 6-3 10-8 to German brothers Alexander and Mischa Zverev.

Eighth seed Fabio Fognini crashed out of the singles, the Italian losing 6-3, 6-0 to Austria’s Dominic Thiem. Another Austrian, Gerald Melzer, was leading Pablo Andujar 4-1 in the first set when the Spaniard retired.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced to the Prague Open semi-finals by 
beating fellow Czech and wild card Denisa Allertova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.

Pliskova made three breaks in the final set and converted her first match point with a backhand return winner. Pliskova took the first set with one of her ten aces before the 103rd-ranked Allertova rallied, converting her fifth set point to win the second set. Pliskova now plays Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, who 
rallied from a set down to 
defeat qualifier Danka Kovinic of 
Montenegro 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Unseeded Katerina Siniakova beat another Czech, third-seeded Barbora Strycova 6-4, 6-2.