It was the first time he had secured back-to-back wins since Indian Wells in March. Lokoli soon took the second set with Murray unable to halt a five-game losing streak.īoth players served impressively in the deciding set until Murray applied the pressure and seized a third break point to lead 5-3.ĭespite Lokoli producing a stunning forehand winner to save a fifth match point, Murray eventually wrapped up victory – much to his obvious relief. It looked as if the fifth seed would make short work of the contest in the second set when he broke serve for a 5-2 lead.īut Murray failed to take two match points and Lokoli, who was animated and waved his arms in the air to rev up the home crowd, battled back to make it 5-4.Īnother two match points came and went for Murray in the next game with Lokoli’s drop shots proving a powerful weapon against the Scot. The 35-year-old three-time major champion – ranked 52 in the world and 135 places higher than Lokoli – shaded a tight first set on the French clay. Murray won 6-4 5-7 6-3 as the second round tie at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole turned into a marathon affair lasting two hours and 42 minutes Andy Murray moves into quarter-finals in FranceĪndy Murray fought his way to a three-set win over Laurent Lokoli at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence after his French opponent had saved five match points.The Scot only took a late wild card into the tournament following an early exit from the ATP Tour event in Madrid and will now decide whether to go Rome or rest and prepare for the French Open, which begins on May 22. Murray, eight days before his 36th birthday, broke in the opening game of the decider and did not look back as a second break consolidated his lead, allowing him to seal a memorable title. He turned the tables by winning the first five games of the second set, including two breaks of serve, and soon levelled up. The 25-year-old American coasted to the first set, but that was as good as it got as Murray came to the fore. It looked like it might slip away after a poor start that saw him lose the first four games of the match to hand Paul, an Australian Open semi-finalist earlier this year, the advantage. In doing so he ensures his return to the top 50 of the rankings and a first Challenger Tour level win for 18 years. Having breezed past lowly ranked French players on his run to the final, the standard was lifted and he came good, beating world number 17 Tommy Paul 2-6 6-1 6-2 to lift the title.
The Scot, playing with a metal hip, has not been in the winners’ circle since triumphing in Antwerp three and a half years ago and, although this is a second-tier tournament, he will take great pride in this confidence-boosting success ahead of the French Open.
“I told myself that I had to be positive all the time and that I would have my chances and I think I did it in the third set.” In the second set I had a lot of chances to break his serve and I didn’t take it and it was tough for me to lose it. Jan was playing great, really aggressive. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget. “In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and (being) a champion is so special. “For me it is so, so special,” Alcaraz said on the ATP Tour website. German Struff became the first lucky loser to reach the final at a Masters 1000 event and gave Alcaraz a tough match, having taken the second set to force a decider.īut Alcaraz was too good and came through to defend his title on home clay. Success in the capital means he will return to the summit of the rankings, displacing Novak Djokovic, if he plays the next ATP Tour event in Rome.Īlcaraz’s latest win came amid the news Rafael Nadal will miss the Italian Open as he continues to recover from a hip injury, and with Djokovic also nursing an elbow problem he is rapidly establishing himself as the French Open favourite. The Spaniard, who turned 20 on Saturday, beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 3-6 6-3 to complete the Spanish double for the second successive year following his victory in Barcelona a fortnight ago. Carlos Alcaraz is primed to become world number one once again after defending his Madrid Open title.
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