Andy Murray defeated Alexander Zverev in three sets in a successful second round of the ATP 250 Hard Court tournament in Doha. On Wednesday, many stars found themselves in difficulty in the capital of Qatar.

Andy Murray is a guarantee of great emotions this season. After astonishing five sets with Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open 2023, now comes his duels on the courts of Doha. On Monday, after defending the match ball, he beat Lorenzo Sonego. On Wednesday, he managed to win 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 in the three-hour marathon over Alexander Zverev and advance to the quarter-finals. “Muzzard” is now 3-1 with Sascha on the home run.

The meeting with Zverev was rich in twists and turns. In the first, the Briton broke the opposing set, then he was better in the tie-break. When the German’s response came in the second set, it might have looked like he had the situation on the pitch under control. Meanwhile, in the third set, the former ATP ranking leader saved break points in games two and four to score a crucial break at 5.

Winner Murray won’t have much time to rest. Thursday, he will fight for the semi-finals, and his opponent will be Alexandre Muller. Ranked 170th in the ATP rankings, the Frenchman climbed into the main draw by eliminations. On Wednesday, he beat Dutch number eight Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 6-4 and earned the success of his life in the main series, as he reached the quarter-finals for the first time.

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The emotions were also at the rendezvous of the duels of the other stars. Andrei Rublev, the number one seed, was close to losing to Tallon Griekspoor. However, he saved three match points from the opponent’s pass in the third set and made up for the break loss. Eventually, the Russian proved better after the tie-break, beating the Dutchman 1:6, 6:1, 7:6(6). Thursday, his opponent will be the Czech Jiri Lehecka. The 2023 Australian Open quarter-finalist beat Finn Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 7-6(2).

Félix Auger-Aliassime also came back from 0-1 in sets on Wednesday marked with a “two”. The Canadian was stunned by Australian Jason Kubler, but then caught his pace and won the final 4:6, 6:1, 6:4. In Thursday’s duel, Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will stand on his way, who confidently beat Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon 6:3, 6:2.

Defending champion Roberto Bautista suffered a sensational defeat. Seeded fifth, the Spaniard led 6-3, 5-3 to Christopher O’Connell but failed to claim victory. The Australian turned the tide of the duel and won 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Thanks to this, he will face Danilo Medvedev in the quarterfinals. The Russian flew to Doha following his success at the ATP 500 indoor event in Rotterdam. At the inauguration, he won with the Briton Liam Broady 6:4, 6:3.

Qatar ExxonMobil OpenDoha, Qatar)
ATP 250, hard court, $1.377 million prize pool
Wednesday February 22

2nd singles round:

Andrei Rublev (1) v Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands) 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(6)
Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) – Emil Ruusuvuori (Finland) 6-2, 7-6(2)
Andy Murray (UK, WC) v Alexander Zverev (Germany, 4) 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5
Alexandre Muller (France, Q) v Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands, 8) 6-2, 6-4
Christopher O’Connell (Australia) v Roberto Bautista (Spain, 5) 3:6, 7:6(5), 6:4
Daniil Medvedev (3) – Liam Broady (UK, Q) 6-4, 6-3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain, 7) v Soonwoo Kwon (South Korea) 6-3, 6-2
Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 2nd) against Jason Kubler (Australia) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

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