Murray advances into Round 2 of European Open
ANTWERP: Andy Murray won a tour-level match in Europe for the first time in 16 months Tuesday as he beat Belgian wild card Kimmer Coppejans 6-4, 7-6 (4) at the European Open.
The former No. 1, who is still working his way back to his best after having hip surgery in January, took a 3-0 lead in the first set before double-faulting three times to be broken back. He broke again in the 10th game to seal the set but had to come from a break down twice in the second to force the tiebreaker.
It was the two-time Wimbledon champion’s first victory on European soil since beating Stan Wawrinka at Eastbourne in June 2018. He will face eighthseeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay or Bolivian Hugo Dellien in the second round. Gilles Simon also advanced, beating home favorite Steve Darcis 6-1, 6-2, while JanLennard Struff needed just 44 minutes to race past Gregoire Barrere of France 6-2, 6-1.
Soonwoo Kwon rallied from a set down to upset 2016 winner Richard Gasquet 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Feliciano Lopez beat Cameron Norrie 7-6 (2), 6-4. Lopez will face Wawrinka for a place in the quarterfinals.
DAVIS CUP VENUE
NEWDELHI: India’s tennis association will apply for visas for their Davis Cup tie against Pakistan next month but expects the fixture to be moved away from Islamabad, AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Asia/Oceania Group I tie, originally scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in Islamabad, was postponed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to late November following a security review. “We’ve begun the visa procedure while waiting for a confirmation on the venue by the ITF,” Chatterjee said by telephone. “We’ve requested a change in venue and ITF has promised to get back to us by Nov. 3.” Pakistan was forced to host Davis Cup ties at neutral venues for more than a decade as teams refused to travel to the country citing security concerns.