Murray, Del Potro Advance In Rotterdam, Tsonga Upset; Dimitrov v Gulbis Thursday

by Staff | February 12th, 2014, 11:59 pm
  • 14 Comments

The top two seeds in Rotterdam, Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Murray, both eased into the second round on Wednesday.

Playing with an injured left wrist, del Potro got past the red-hot Gael Monfils 7-6(6), 6-3.

“My left wrist is getting better,” del Potro said. “It’s improving day by day. I think I played 50 per cent slices. For the next match I will try to play more my regular backhand. I don’t feel pain at the moment, which is good. I will do my treatment now and hopefully be better for tomorrow.”


Murray later mastered Eduoard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-3.

“I moved well. For me that’s a big part of my game,” said Murray. “Sometimes at the beginning of weeks it can be tough to get used to a new surface in terms of your movement. But from the beginning of the match, I made it tough for him to hit any winners and kept making him play one extra ball. Hopefully at the week goes on I’ll start to hit the ball better with each match.”

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was sent home in a mild upset. The Frenchman fell to Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4 in a second round match. The Zagreb champ, Cilic has now won his last seven matches.

“To beat Tsonga is always a great achievement, especially this early in the season,” said Cilic. “I think a great week last week in Zagreb has helped me to get in good form, to get to play a lot of matches. To win many [matches] in a row, that’s what I think every player is looking for in the beginning of the season. So it’s great to be in the quarter-finals.”

Tommy Haas also beat Fernando Verdasco. And Richard Gasquet ousted local favorite Thiemo De Bakker.

On tap on Thursday, del Potro meets French veteran Paul Henri-Mathieu while Murray takes on young star Dominic Thiem. The 20-year-old Austrian Thiem has is playing just his second career match against a Top 10 player.

In maybe the best match tomorrow, Grigor Dimitrov duels Ernests Gulbis. Tomas Berdych is also in action against Nicolas Mahut.


You Might Like:
Zverevs Go Down In 3 At Rotterdam; Berdych v Gasquet Thursday
Federer Steps On The Worm, Djokovic Cruises In Dubai; Gulbis-Dimitrov Thursday In Acapulco
Defending Champion Del Potro, Kvitova Out; Cilic Authors Take Down Of Murray In Rotterdam
Goffin Finally Stops Dimitrov, Thiem Upset In Rotterdam; Tsonga v Berdych Saturday
Murray, Del Potro v Monfils On Tap Wednesday In Rotterdam

Don't miss any tennis action, stay connected with Tennis-X

Get the FREE TX daily newsletter

14 Comments for Murray, Del Potro Advance In Rotterdam, Tsonga Upset; Dimitrov v Gulbis Thursday

Giles Says:

Delpo wrist injury – what injury?? He is whacking the ball harder than ever!
#CarefulNow


Colin Says:

Although Murray’s win is being reported as routine, he was nonetheless getting very angry with himself.
His movement may have been OK, but when he got to the ball, as well as some great shots he missed a lot of sitters.

I’m trying to be optimistic, but I’ll be surprised if he fulfils his seeding in Rotterdam. This guy Thiem, of whom I’d never heard, may not provide the tough workout Andy needs.


tfouto Says:

This Dominic Thiem, is a good suprise.
20 yrs old. He seems to me one of the most promises of future tennis…


Colin Says:

Good grief, I couldn’t have been more wrong when I guessed Thiem wouldn’t test Murray. The young Austrian will, let’s hope, be entertaining and thrilling the fans for years to come, if he stays healthy.


tfouto Says:

yes, he’s got great tennis already. Altough Murray is not on top form, Thiem played really well.


the DA Says:

Thiem is a very promising prospect. Fearless, great BH and touch. But we’ve said that about a few players in recent years. Let’s see. Andy didn’t do himself any favors for much of that 2nd set though. Cilic will steamroll him if he doesn’t sharpen up before the QF.


Hippy Chic Says:

Not exactly vintage Murray,he was given a tough work out by a promising young up and coming player,i agree he will have to play better against Cilic.


Margot Says:

Yuk. Didn’t enjoy that. Andy’s not ready and looked knackered at the end. Not ready for back to back yet. And Cilic has had a day’s rest.
Dom looked a good prospect though.


Perfect fan Says:

Andy’s game is fine….but he did look a touch low in confidence, probably due to the surgery. But I believe he vl at his best by Miami hopefully.

Plus, I also believe he can dominate on grass hereafter like roger did in his hay days.


Hippy Chic Says:

Perfect Fan great post,and i hope your right,Andys game does seem better suited to the grass court season.


Perfect fan Says:

Chic thanx :) I rly am very excited for 2014 season. Rafa is solid n looking good so far(except that minor back issue), Novak’s return will be under scanner in dubai, but IMO will be stronger as usually happens after a GS loss. Andy is slowly but steadily coming into groove. Fed has surprised everyone with his strong display so far. Stan will be a genuine slam contender at least this year….u rightly said, he needs to back up his AO win with some strong performances in the upcoming slams at least by reaching SF or Fs. Berdych n Delpo r looking stronger n contenders too.

Great times ahead….LETS SIT BACK N ENJOY :P


Hippy Chic Says:

Perfect Fan thanks i asked what i believed to be a pertinent question last week about Stan,and whether he would/could back this up,especially with some young players now begining to make some noise?all i wanted was an inteligent discussion about it,so its nice to get some proper feed back without been ranted at,it will be interesting to see how both Rafa and especially Novak are after the dissapointment of the AO,Andy does indeed seem to be on the right track,Roger looked good at the open too,when you have a new GS on the horizon its all of a sudden adds a new dynamic when the other players face them,so it will make for an exciting season especially seeing where Stan goes from here :))..

Top story: Sinner Settles With WADA, Accepts 3-Month Ban, Won't Miss Rome, Won't Miss French Open
Most Recent story: Frustrated Nick Kyrgios Calls Sinner Ban A "Sad Day For Tennis"