Andy Murray vs Stefanos Tsitsipas LIVE: Result and score from Stuttgart Open quarter-final match today
Andy Murray #AndyMurray
Andy Murray saw off Alexander Bublik in the last round (PA Wire)
Andy Murray is taking on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open. Murray beat Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6 in the previous round after first knocking out Australian qualifier Christopher O’Connell, and has impressed with his serve as he builds towards Wimbledon.
Murray went a break up in the second, Bublik recovered from an erratic start to lead 5-2 and forced Murray to save set points, with two consecutive aces sealing the hold after a lengthy service game. From there, Murray immediately broke Bublik and forced the tiebreak, where he played some of his best tennis of the second set to edge the World No44 7-5 in the decider. “I felt I played well towards the finish,” Murray said afterwards. “I feel good, I moved well on the court and hopefully I can play better tennis towards the weekend.”
But in the Greek 23-year-old Tstitsipas, the current world No4, Murray faces a whole different challenge. Tsitsipas is the top seed in Stuttgart, although he required a third-set tie-break to get past Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker in the previous round. Follow the latest score and all the action below.
Andy Murray vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stuttgart Open quarter-finals
Andy Murray beats No1 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas
Murray wins first set tie-break before seeing out match, 7-6 (4), 6-3
No2 seed Matteo Berrettini beats Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 3-6, 6-4
Game, set, match! Andy Murray 7-6 (4), 6-3 Stefanos Tsitsipas
16:02 , Lawrence Ostlere
Tsitsipas hits a routine mid-court forehand too wide before Murray slams a forehand long, 15-15. Murray’s serve then comes to the fore as he bullies two more match points. He only needs one, winning with a sublime forehand down the line.
Andy Murray* 7-6 (4), 5-3 Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:58 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray has two match points at 15-40, with Tsitsipas seemingly cooked. The Greek’s first serve has fallen away significantly in this second set, but he musters something to take the game to deuce before an ace and another powerful serve clinch the game. Much better from the Greek, and Murray will have to serve it out.
Story continues
Andy Murray 7-6 (4), 5-2 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:51 , Lawrence Ostlere
Down 15-30, Murray delivers a big serve down the T to bring parity. He wins the next rally when Tsitsipas hits long, and another long return evokes a shout of “Let’s go!” from Murray, who is one game away from the semi-finals.
Andy Murray* 7-6 (4), 4-2 Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:47 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray gets himself ahead in the game with a disguised backhand pass with Tsitsipas at the net, then at 15-15 produces a touch of class with a deft forehand drop shot to leave the Greek floundering. A backhand into the net lets Tsitsipas back in at 30-all, but he then double faults to gift Murray a break point. Murray battles brilliantly to win what might just be the longest point of the match so far, finishing with a brilliant backhand winner as Tsitsipas approaches the net, and that’s the crucial first break.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 7-6 (4), 3-2 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:41 , Lawrence Ostlere
Excellent serving from Murray who dishes up an ace of his own and a couple of unreturnable serves to get to 40-0. When he finally pops up a simple second serve for his opponent, Tsitsipas dumps a backhand into the net. Very few chances for either player here, and although it’s still early days in the second set it would not be surprising if we go to another tie-break.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 7-6 (4), 2-2 Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:39 , Lawrence Ostlere
Another ace from Tsitsipas, his seventh of the match, en route to a straightforward hold.
*denotes next server.
Tennis news: Sue Barker to end Wimbledon run
15:34 , Lawrence Ostlere
Sue Barker will retire as presenter of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage at the end of this year’s tournament after 30 years, the broadcaster has announced.
The former French Open winner, 66, said: “What a wonderful time I’ve had working on some of the biggest sporting events around the world.
“I will miss it terribly but after 30 years I feel the time is right for me. I’ve worked with the best of the best.”
Barker was the last British woman to win the French Open in 1976.
BBC director-general Tim Davie said: “Sue Barker has been the face and voice of Wimbledon for three decades.
“Many of our viewers will not know of a summer in SW19 without her. She is a consummate professional, an outstanding presenter and a wonderful colleague, loved by current and former players, all of us at the BBC and audiences across the UK and beyond.
“Her contribution to tennis, the BBC, sports presenting and for blazing a trail for women in broadcasting cannot be overstated. We are looking forward to her leading our coverage, with all the style, warmth and knowledge she has displayed for the last 30 years, and we will say farewell with heavy hearts at the end of the tournament.”
Andy Murray 7-6 (4), 2-1 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:34 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray’s serve keeps putting pressure on his opponent. At 40-30 Murray serves powerfully to Tsitsipas’s backhand and the return floats long. That’s game.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 7-6 (4), 1-1 Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
Tsitsipas puts together his most shaky service game for a while with several missed first serves and his first double fault, but he holds out nonetheless. Losing that first set seems to have agitated him a little.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 7-6 (4), 1-0 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:26 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray’s serve continues where it left off as he takes the opening game of the second set to 15.
*denotes next server.
Game, set! Andy Murray* 7-6 (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:21 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray gets the first break! He has two serves to see it out. He aces the first down the T, then draws a long lob from Tsitsipas to clinch the set.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 6-6 (3-3) Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:17 , Lawrence Ostlere
Tsitsipas wins the first point on serve. Over to Murray, who pulls off a beautifully controlled low volley en route to winning his first serve point. It stays on serve to 3-3 and change of ends.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 6-6 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:13 , Lawrence Ostlere
At 15-30 down Murray picks up a brilliant low volley which he angles into the corner of the court. However, bad luck strikes at 30-30 when Tsitsipas catches a favourable net cord to set up a break point. Tsitsipas then makes a mistake when he stops playing wrongly thinking Murray had hit the ball out, and from there Murray serves out the game. Tie-break.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 5-6 Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:04 , Lawrence Ostlere
Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it service game by Tsitsipas. Murray must hold to force a tie-break.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 5-5 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
15:02 , Lawrence Ostlere
The feature of this match has been the excellent serving by both players, but Murray lets Tsitsipas in with a couple of second serves which his opponent takes full advantage of. At 30-30, Murray launches one down the T to force a return error, but the Scot then hits the net at the end of a long rally to bring up duece. A big first serve sets up advantage Murray, before a forehand winner to seal the game.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 4-5 Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:54 , Lawrence Ostlere
A couple more aces from Tsitsipas, and Murray must be feeling as though he’s running out of ideas as to how to break. The Greek wins another service game to love, and now Murray must hold to stay in the set.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 4-4 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:52 , Lawrence Ostlere
At 15-0, Tsitsipas fires a brilliant forehand winner down the line. Murray delivers an unreturnable serve before Tsitsipas wins another point with a winner on the line, making 30-30, yet Murray holds his nerve and clinches the game to 30 with smart volley.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 3-4 Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:47 , Lawrence Ostlere
At 30-all Tsitsipas fails to put away a mid-court volley, slamming it against the net cord. Break point, but he responds with an ace, and then another to see out the game. A tiny chink of light for Murray there, but Tsitsipas emphatically shut the door.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 3-3 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:43 , Lawrence Ostlere
Tsitsipas fires a backhand down the line wide on the opening point of the game and Murray keeps up the momentum, finishing with a powerful unreturnable serve. Both players have their first serve accuracy over 70%, and their first serve points won above 90%, which all points to a tie break.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 2-3 Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:39 , Lawrence Ostlere
The answer is: not really. Tsitsipas looks very comfortable on his own serve, hitting 77% of first serves in, and Murray is going to need that number to come down if he is to get a sniff of a break.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 2-2 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:35 , Lawrence Ostlere
Better from Murray, who gets his first serve going nicely. Can he finally put some pressure on the Tsitsipas serve?
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 1-2 Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray is really struggling to get hold of Tsitsapas’s serve, lacking the movement to get himself in good positions to return and lacking the execution when he does finally get behind the ball. The Greek’s service game rattles by once more.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray 1-1 *Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:29 , Lawrence Ostlere
A long opening rally is gifted to Tsitsipas when Murray dabs an attempted forehand drop-shot into the net, but his serve pulls him back into the game, and at 40-30 his first serve to the backhand side is sent long by Tsitsipas. All square.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray* 0-1 Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:24 , Lawrence Ostlere
Stefanos Tsitsipas rattles through the first game to love. Andy Murray looks like he needs to shake off a bit of rust.
*denotes next server.
Andy Murray vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
14:17 , Lawrence Ostlere
A reminder of their not so friendly rivalry:
Murray and Tsitsipas have history. They have only played once but it was a fiery match in last year’s US Open. Murray led by two sets to one before the Greek roared back to win in five.
However, tensions grew when Tsitsipas took eight minutes for a bathroom break before the start of the fifth set, and then immediately broke a furious Murray. He went on to close out a 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in just less than five hours.
Murray, who could be heard shouting “it’s cheating” towards his box during the final set, condemned the long break as “nonsense” and said he had lost respect for his opponent.
“It’s not so much leaving the court. It’s the amount of time,” Murray said. “It’s nonsense and he knows it. That’s annoying for me because it sounds like sour grapes because you’ve lost a match. I would have said the same thing if I’d won, I promise.
“It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it had influence on what was happening after those breaks.”
But Tsitsipas denied bending the rules. “If there’s something that he has to tell me, we should speak, the two of us, to kind of understand what went wrong. I don’t think I broke any rules. I played by the guidelines, how everything is. I don’t know how my opponent feels when I’m out there playing the match. It’s not really my priority.
“As far as I’m playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine. I have nothing against him. Absolutely nothing.”
Stuttgart Open quarter-finals
14:10 , Lawrence Ostlere
Next on Centre Court, Murray vs Tsitsipas.
Berrettini beats Sonego
13:59 , Lawrence Ostlere
Matteo Berrettini beats Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 after quite a battle. The No2 seed will be relieved to have made it through to the semi-finals.
Harriet Dart hits target in Nottingham to reach first WTA quarter-final
13:33 , Lawrence Ostlere
The latest from Nottingham, where yesterday Britain’s Harriet Dart saved three match points to reach her first WTA quarter-final with a dramatic tie-break victory over Italian third seed Camila Giorgi at the Rothesay Open.
On another rain-affected day, Dart returned to court tied at one set all with the world number 26 having clawed level before play was suspended on Wednesday.
With a tense decider remaining on serve, the 25-year-old was on the brink of exiting the competition at 40-0 down in the 10th game but she dug in to eventually progress 5-7 6-4 7-6 (3) and claim a personal milestone.
Her reward for a gruelling victory, which took two hours and 34 minutes over the two days, is a last-eight meeting with sixth-seeded American Alison Riske, who overcame 2019 champion Caroline Garcia 6-4 7-5.
“I can’t quite believe it, saving those three match points,” Dart told the LTA.
“I really have to thank the crowd because they got me through that. This is my first quarter-final, so for it to be at a home tournament is special.”
Harriet Dart hits target in Nottingham to reach first WTA quarter-final
Berrettini takes control against Sonego
13:28 , Lawrence Ostlere
Matteo Berrettini has seen out the second set against Lorenzo Sonego and they are into the third and final set – and Berrettini has made the early break.
On this day in 2016
13:13 , Lawrence Ostlere
This, admittedly, is five days’ old but who’s counting…
Andy Murray suffered his eighth Grand Slam final defeat as Novak Djokovic finally took the French Open title and with it his place in the highest pantheon of tennis on this day in 2016.
The world No 1 became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four trophies at the same time after a 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory in his fourth final at Roland Garros.
To achieve something even Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fell short of in the same era is truly remarkable and, after winning his 12th Slam title, Djokovic moved within five of Federer’s all-time record.
For Murray, it was an all-too familiar feeling as high hopes gave way to helplessness in the face of Djokovic’s brilliance, with five of his final defeats coming against the man he first faced as an 11-year-old.
The Scot, the first British man in 79 years to reach the final in Paris, fought for all he was worth in the fourth set but ultimately he had no answer.
On this day in 2016: Andy Murray loses French Open final to Novak Djokovic
Berrettini fights back against Sonego
13:06 , Lawrence Ostlere
Game on, on Centre Court in Stuttgart right now, as No2 seed Matteo Berrettini fights back to 6-3, 2-5 against Lorenzo Sonego.
Murray’s Stuttgart journey so far
12:44 , Lawrence Ostlere
In the second round Andy Murray defeated seventh seed Alexander Bublik to reach the quarter-finals.
The Scot has headed to Germany for his first ATP Tour event of the season on grass and could face top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas next after seeing off Kazakh Bublik 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Murray had to work hard in the second set after dropping serve twice in succession, but saved two set points at 2-5 and another two games later before winning five of the last six points in the tie-break.
It was a third meeting between the three-time grand slam champion and 42nd-ranked Bublik this season, with Murray taking a 2-1 advantage.
Bublik is known as one of the more flamboyant players on tour, and Murray said in his on-court interview: “He’s predictable in his unpredictability. You’re prepared for some amazing shots and then maybe some loose games.
“Today he played some amazing stuff for five or six games in the second set and everything was coming off. I was getting a bit frustrated but I kept fighting, held a tough game at 5-2 and then I thought I played well through to the finish.”
(Getty Images)
Murray’s Stuttgart journey so far
12:35 , Lawrence Ostlere
Andy Murray began his campaign at the Stuttgart Open with victory over Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.
The two-time Wimbledon champion lost in the semi-finals of the second-tier Challenger event in Surbiton last week and headed to Germany to continue his grass-court season.
He lost the first three games to qualifier O’Connell but recovered strongly to claim a 6-4, 6-3 victory and reach the second round.
Murray could have faced a quick rematch with Denis Kudla, the player he lost to in Surbiton, but the American fell in straight sets to seventh seed Alexander Bublik, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
Matteo Berrettini under pressure
12:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
Currently on court is the No2 seed Matteo Berrettini, who is losing 5-3 to Lorenzo Sonego in the first set of their quarter-final. They are on the other side of the draw to Murray and Tsitsipas – should Murray win he could face Nick Krygios in the semi-finals.
Nick Kyrgios during his second-round match against Nikoloz Basilashvili (Getty Images)
Murray and Tsitsipas share tense history
12:20 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray and Tsitsipas have history. They have only played once but it was a fiery match in last year’s US Open. Murray led by two sets to one before the Greek roared back to win in five.
However, tensions grew when Tsitsipas took eight minutes for a bathroom break before the start of the fifth set, and then immediately broke a furious Murray. He went on to close out a 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in just less than five hours.
Murray, who could be heard shouting “it’s cheating” towards his box during the final set, condemned the long break as “nonsense” and said he had lost respect for his opponent.
“It’s not so much leaving the court. It’s the amount of time,” Murray said. “It’s nonsense and he knows it. That’s annoying for me because it sounds like sour grapes because you’ve lost a match. I would have said the same thing if I’d won, I promise.
“It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it had influence on what was happening after those breaks.”
But Tsitsipas denied bending the rules. “If there’s something that he has to tell me, we should speak, the two of us, to kind of understand what went wrong. I don’t think I broke any rules. I played by the guidelines, how everything is. I don’t know how my opponent feels when I’m out there playing the match. It’s not really my priority.
“As far as I’m playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine. I have nothing against him. Absolutely nothing.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas is No1 seed
12:12 , Lawrence Ostlere
But in the Greek 23-year-old Tstitsipas, the current world No4, Murray faces a whole different challenge. Tsitsipas is the top seed in Stuttgart, although he required a third-set tie-break to get past Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker in the previous round.
Murray beats Bublik in previous round
12:08 , Lawrence Ostlere
Murray went a break up in the second, Bublik recovered from an erratic start to lead 5-2 and forced Murray to save set points, with two consecutive aces sealing the hold after a lengthy service game. From there, Murray immediately broke Bublik and forced the tiebreak, where he played some of his best tennis of the second set to edge the World No44 7-5 in the decider. “I felt I played well towards the finish,” Murray said afterwards. “I feel good, I moved well on the court and hopefully I can play better tennis towards the weekend.”
Andy Murray
12:00 , Lawrence Ostlere
Andy Murray is taking on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open. Murray beat Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6 in the previous round after first knocking out Australian qualifier Christopher O’Connell, and has impressed with his serve as he builds towards Wimbledon.