Andy Murray beats Nick Kyrgios to reach final of Boss Open in Stuttgart - next match against Matteo Berrettini, start time
The 35-year-old Scott continued his excellent week in German city of Stuttgart with a 7-6 (7/5) 6-1 win over the Australian to book a date against last year’s Wimbledon finalist and second seed Matteo Berrettini on Sunday at 2pm.
The first set went with serve before Murray took it with his second set point of the tie-break. And he raced through the second, quickly opening up a 5-1 lead before sealing victory over combustible Australian Kyrgios in just over an hour-and-a-half.
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Hide AdA day after seeing off Tsitsipas in the quarter-final, the first time he had beaten a top-five player since victory over Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals in 2016, Murray continued to show his prowess on grass as builds up to Wimbledon.
Murray said he was proud of his effort against the Australian.
"It has been a long time since the last final [on grass]," he said, reported by atptour.com.
"A lot of ups and downs, but I kept going and kept working and finally managed to get to another one. I am proud of the effort I have put in.
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Hide Ad"I was just a little more solid in the tie-break. I asked the questions.
"On these courts, when it is playing quick, the set often comes down to one or two points and I was a little more secure at the end of the first set."
Murray, currently ranked 68 in the world, lost to Berrettini last year at Queens 6-3 6-3 on grass but did defeat him in Beijing, on a hard court, via two tie-breaks. He is playing fine tennis this week in Stuttgart, seeing off Christopher O’Connell, Alexander Bublik, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and now Kyrgios without dropping a set.
If Murray wins in his 70th final on the main tour, it will be his 47th main title. This will be his second final this year after he lost to Russia’s Aslan Karatsev in the Sydney International back in January. His last title came in October 2019 when he won the European Open against Stan Wawrinka in the Belgian city of Antwerp.
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Hide AdMurray is due to play at the cinch Championships at Queens next week, where he has been drawn to play unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the first round.
Elsewhere in the Queens draw, British number one Cameron Norrie, the third seed, takes on Bulgaria's former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov and second-ranked Briton Dan Evans faces defending champion Berrettini.
Ryan Peniston, the British number seven, has been handed a tough opening-round draw as he plays top seed and French Open runner-up Casper Ruud.
British number five Liam Broady faces Croatia's seventh seed Marin Cilic in his first-round match.
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Hide AdThree-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka will play American Frances Tiafoe and Canada's sixth seed Denis Shapovalov faces an other American, Tommy Paul.
The winner will pocket just over £340,000 and the runner-up close to £184,000 out of a total prize fund of £1.84million.
Meanwhile, Alison Riske booked her place in the Rothesay Open final in Nottingham with a three-set win over Viktorija Golubic.
Riske had put an end to British number three Harriet Dart's hopes in the quarters, but she had to work hard to secure a 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory.
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Hide AdThe American had also overcome 2019 champion Caroline Garcia to reach the last eight and proved too strong for the world number 55 from Poland.
Riske was made to work hard for the win and now plays Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final after she won her semi-final when Tereza Martincova was forced to retire.
Haddad Maiai took the first set 6-3, before Martincova was forced to leave the court at 4-1 down in the second set.