Murray Saves 7 Match Points In Dubai Win Over Kohlschreiber

Andy Murray did something he had never done before in his career, saving a whopping seven match points during the longest tiebreak he’s played in his career which he eventually he won 20-18 over Philipp Kohlschreiber Thursday in Dubai. In the end, Murray moved on to the semifinals 6-7(4), 7-6(18), 6-1.

“It’s obviously a special match to win because of how it went. I’ll probably never play another tie-break like that again,” Murray said of the 31-minute breaker. “I have been playing on the tour for 11, 12 years now, and nothing’s been close to that.

“There were definitely some unbelievable points in that second set tie-break, but in general I think the level was extremely high. He was hitting the ball so hard tonight from both sides. Any time he had the opportunity, he was ripping the ball and made it really, really tough.”

Murray fended off one match point with a ridiculous drop shot down 8-9.

“Of course losing is always disappointing, but I’m not sad,” said Kohlschreiber who was seeking a 400th career win. “I think I played great tennis, one of my best matches. You can be thinking about one or two shots, but it was just a great match. It’s well-deserved, he’s a great fighter, he never gave up.”

Murray, the lone Top 6 seed to reach the last four, now meets Frenchman Lucas Pouille who ousted Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(2).

The other semifinal pits Fernando Verdasco against Robin Haase. Verdasco knocked out No. 4 seed Gael Monfils while Haase ended the run of Damir Dzumhur.

FRIDAY DUBAI SCHEDULE
CHEDULE – FRIDAY, 3 MARCH 2016

CENTRE COURT start 2:30 pm
G. Garcia-Lopez (ESP) / L. Paes (IND) vs R. Bopanna (IND) / M. Matkowski (POL)

Not Before 5:00 pm
F. Verdasco (ESP) vs R. Haase (NED)

Not Before 7:00 pm
[1] A. Murray (GBR) vs [7] L. Pouille (FRA)
[1] H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS) vs [4] J. Rojer (NED) / H. Tecau (ROU)