LATEST TENNIS NEWS – ANDY MURRAY BEATS STEVIE JOHNSON IN SHANGHAI OPENER AND TOMAS BERDYCH BEATS JACK SOCK

Written by: Staff on 14th October 2015

LATEST TENNIS NEWS - ANDY MURRAY BEATS STEVIE JOHNSON IN SHANGHAI OPENER AND TOMAS BERDYCH BEATS JACK SOCK

epa04938436 Britain's Andy Murray serves the ball during the doubles match of the Davis Cup semi final tie between Britain and Australia in Glasgow, Britain, 19 September 2015. EPA/ROBERT PERRY |

Andy Murray showed few signs of rust on Wednesday as he returned to action after a three-week break to beat Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

The Scot was competing for the first time since leading Great Britain into the Davis Cup final with victory over Australia in Glasgow. In his first meeting with the No. 47-ranked Johnson, Murray converted four of his five break points, including a break of serve in the final game of the match to claim victory in 74 minutes.

“I felt good,” said Murray. “I thought I moved well from the beginning, struck the ball cleanly. From my side, I was happy with the way that I played and also the way my body felt. I thought I moved around the court very well. That’s obviously an important part of my game. That was key.”

Andy Murray and Stevie Johnson. Photo via Instagram.

The 28-year-old Murray is a two-time former champion at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, lifting the trophy in 2010 (d. Federer) and 2011 (d. Ferrer). He also finished runner-up in 2012, losing a close contest to Novak Djokovic.

Murray has a 62-10 mark on the season, highlighted by winning four ATP World Tour titles. He will look to reach the Shanghai quarter-finals when he takes on John Isner on Thursday. Murray takes a 4-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage over Isner into the third-round clash, most recently beating the 6’10” American in the Davis Cup earlier this year.

Looking ahead to the Isner clash, Murray said, “We’re playing 1:30 tomorrow. The court plays a little bit quicker during the day. When the sun goes down and you play in the evening, it can slow the conditions down. Playing earlier makes it a little bit quicker. So breaking serve will be tougher.

“But, I played well against him in the past. I’ve won some close ones against him. But he’s played very well this year. He’s been a lot more consistent outside of the States this year. It will be a tough match.”

Fifth seed Tomas Berdych survived a stern test against Jack Sock, edging the American 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 25 minutes. Sock was made to rue converting just three of 14 break point chances, including missing three break points in the final game as Berdych served out the victory.

Photo via Instagram

The 30-year-old Berdych is fifth in the Emirates ATP Race To London and next in line to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Czech recently won his first ATP World Tour title of the season in Shenzhen (d. Garcia-Lopez) and has a 50-17 mark on the year.

Berdych goes on to face 10th seed Gilles Simon, who rallied from a set down to beat Leonardo Mayer 6-7(0), 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 37 minutes. Simon was runner-up in Shanghai last year (l. to Federer). The Frenchman has enjoyed success against Berdych in the past, winning seven of their 11 meetings, including in the Shanghai quarter-finals last year.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/murray-beats-johnson-in-shanghai-opener )

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, jack sock, Shanghai Rolex Masters, Sports, Stevie Johnson, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

October 14, 2015 at 9:27 am

LATEST #TENNIS NEWS – @andy_murray BEATS @SJohnson_89 IN #ShanghaiMasters OPENER AND @tomasberdych BEATS @JackSock- http://t.co/rpjCwuAJbA
ElenaFoundation says:

October 15, 2015 at 7:01 am

@Andy_murray beats Stevie Johnson in Shanghai http://t.co/jfXQtAZRkD (news via @10sBalls_com)
StacTennis says:

October 15, 2015 at 7:02 am

RT @ElenaFoundation: @Andy_murray beats Stevie Johnson in Shanghai http://t.co/jfXQtAZRkD (news via @10sBalls_com)