Andy Murray moved a step closer to a record-equalling fourth Queen’s Club title as the top seed defeated Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-4, while Grigor Dimitrov joined the lengthy list of star casualties.
While defending champion Dimitrov was beaten 6-4, 7-6(5) by Gilles Muller in the second round on Thursday, Murray avoided becoming the latest big name to fall with a second successive straight-sets win.
Dimitrov’s lacklustre exit against the Luxembourgi World No.48 came hot on the heels of Rafael Nadal’s shock loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov and Stan Wawrinka’s defeat against Kevin Anderson.
Murray last triumphed at the Queen’s Club in 2013, and if he lifts the giant silver trophy on Sunday, he will join Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt in the list of four-time champs.
“Fernando is obviously an extremely powerful guy, and you don’t have a chance to get into some of the rallies. But he didn’t serve so well which gave me a few opportunities,” Murray said. “I was happy with the way I moved; it was better than the first match.”
Dimitrov’s success at the Queen’s Club 12 months ago and his long association with the event led him to claim this week that he felt like he “owned the court” here. But the 24-year-old hadn’t reached a tour-level final since his victory over Feliciano Lopez at Queen’s 12 months ago, and this was the latest setback in a frustrating year.
“It’s a tough loss for me,” Dimitrov said. “It’s never easy when you lose your title, but that’s part of the game.”
“I'm going to have quite a few days to get ready for Wimbledon, and I’m sure I’m going to turn things around.”
At the Gerry Weber open in Halle, second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea struggled past Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to make the semifinals.
Bopanna and Mergea next face Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky.
Sania & Dellacqua lose Top seeds Casey Dellacqua and Sania Mirza crashed out of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, losing 6-4, 6-2 to Jie Zheng and Yung-Jan Chan in the first round of the doubles draw.
Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka suffered yet another of a seemingly endless sequence of injuries and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.
The results: At London: Aegon Championships: Second round: John Isner bt Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 7-6(4). Andy Murray bt Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-4; Gilles Muller bt Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6(5); Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-6(4). Doubles: Quarterfinals: Daniel Nestor & Leander Paes bt Marc Lopez & Rafael Nadal 7-6(3), 6-4.
At Halle: Gerry Weber Open: Second round: Gael Monfils bt Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6(1), 6-4. Jerzy Janowicz bt Alejandro Falla 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; Kei Nishikori bt Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-1; Tommy Robredo bt Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3. Doubles: Quarterfinals: Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea bt Marin Draganja & Henri Kontinen 7-6(4), 7-6(3).
