Lawn Tennis
Andy Murray Reaches Quarterfinals At London
By Ken Miller, Lawn Tennis Correspondent, Posted: Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:10pm CST USA
Andy Murray Reaches Quarterfinals At London, Andy Roddick
Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty
LONDON, England (lawntennismag.com)—Thursday in third round play at the Artois Championships grasscourt ATP Tour tournament, 6th seeded Andy Murray of Britan endured strong winds to defeat Latvian Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 to advance to Friday's quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, Murray faces 3rd seeded and defending champion Andy Roddick of the USA.


Murray reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2006.

Murray rallied from a set down while battling thumb, neck and groin injuries. He lost his balance several times and fell. He also received medical treatment during changeovers.

“It’s the first time on a tennis court I’ve been worried about getting through uninjured,” Murray said. “It was so slippy, I was sliding two meters after each shot so I was just happy to come through in the end.”

Play was suspended in set one due to rain. After resumption of play, Murray fell and injured his thumb, but was able to continue play after medical treatment.

“The thumb is the worst part and my neck is a bit sore as well,” Murray said. “My groin is okay. It felt really sore at first, I was changing direction and my foot slid from underneath me but the physio came on and did a good job.”

“I don’t know how it will pull up tomorrow but I am in a bit of pain.”

Murray leads Roddick head to head 4-2 and won their last matchup 5-3 in Miami last year when Roddick retired due to injury. Murray also won their only grasscourt match 7-6(7-4), 6-4, 6-4 at Wimbledon in 2006.

The 21 year old Murray turned professional in 2005 and had his best finish at Wimbledon a year later in 2006 when he reached the 4th round before falling to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

Murray, the British number one, reached a career high ranking of 8th in June of 2007 and is currently ranked 11th.

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