Andy Murray beats James Ward to book place in semi-finals

Scot bounces back from Kyle Edmund defeat at Battle of the Brits event

Andy Murray plays a forehand during his win over James Ward at the Schroders Battle of the Brits. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Andy Murray bounced back from Wednesday’s slight setback to defeat James Ward and book his place in the semi-finals of the Schroders Battle of the Brits event.

Murray beat Ward in straight sets at Roehampton, 24 hours after the Scot had loss to Kyle Edmund. The two-time Wimbledon champion had played down the Edmund defeat, insisting he had been happy with his progress as he ended a seven-month lay-off following a bruised hip bone.

He had looked in good condition against world No 44 Edmund, and also in the win over Liam Broady on Tuesday. The form continued last night as he despatched Ward 6-3, 7-5 to move into the last four of the tournament organised by his older brother, Jamie.

Murray said the Englishman had been a doughty opponent and admitted he had “felt his hip”.

“It was really tough. Wardy played well and dictated the points early on,” Murray said. “When he was down on his service games he fought really hard. He came up with some good stuff, but physically it was a pretty tough match.

“I felt my hip a little bit but it did not affect my movement. When I played in November at the Davis Cup it was; my hip was sore and I was struggling to move.

“I felt I moved the best I had done in the three matches so that’s a positive. I’m delighted I have a rest day tomorrow as I’m very tired. I probably could’ve been a bit more aggressive on my backhand. Yesterday was better than the first match. There were a lot of winners and points in defensive positions and if I can do that on backhand I will go on to the court feeling safe.”

Earlier, British No 1 Dan Evans beats Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-3 to book his place in the semi-finals. And Paul Jubb beat Ryan Peniston 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 10-6.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams has signed up to play World TeamTennis for the 15th time. She will be a member of the Washington Kastles, one of nine teams that will gather at a resort in West Virginia for a three-week season starting on 12 July. Matches normally are played at various sites around the country, but WTT decided to bring everyone to one location because of the pandemic.