BNP Paribas Open 2021: Alexander Zverev beats Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6– Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev has continued his good form on the court as he saw the back of former World No.1 Andy Murray in round 3 of the ongoing Indian Wells Tennis on Tuesday. The German ace made light work of his British counterpart, clinching a straight-sets victory, to make it to the pre-quarterfinals of the tournament. Zverev has now made it to the BNP Paribas Open round of 16 for the first time in five years, a signal of his purple patch on the court. Follow BNP Paribas Open 2021 updates on insidesport.in
Big match. Big win.
🇩🇪 @AlexZverev defeats Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 to make the Round of 16 at the #BNPPO21. pic.twitter.com/GKr5bp3KMH
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 13, 2021
No win, but so good to see @andy_murray back at this level 😍#BNPPO21 pic.twitter.com/41GiyeJSLZ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 13, 2021
BNP Paribas Open 2021: Alexander Zverev beats Andy Murray: Despite falling behind a break in both sets, the third seed overcame a game Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the fourth round in Indian Wells for the first time since 2016. The German will next play 14th seed Gael Monfils or two-time major finalist Kevin Anderson.
“He’s the only one of the Big Four that I hadn’t beaten yet, so I’m happy that I’ve done it today,” Alexander Zverev said in his on-court interview. “Obviously it was a fantastic match. I thought Andy played extremely well, maybe as well as he’s played since the surgery. I hope he continues playing the same way, because tennis did miss him for a long time and I think it’s good to have him back.”
Fourteen-time ATP Masters 1000 winner Andy Murray played good tennis to back up his impressive second-round performance against #NextGenATP star Carlos Alcaraz. The Scot also had the full support of the Stadium 1 crowd, which roared for nearly every point he won.
But Alexander Zverev was simply too good. Despite patches of uncharacteristic play — including several mistakes at the net, especially with his overhead — the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion played his best tennis in critical moments to advance after two hours and eight minutes.
“I always stayed in the match, even though I was down a break in both sets. I always knew I had a chance. Especially the second set I think was an extremely high level from both of us. It could have gone both ways.”
BNP Paribas Open 2021: Alexander Zverev beats Andy Murray: Andy Murraysprinted to the lead early in both sets, bringing energy to the court and taking advantage of openings given to him. But as both sets wore on, Alexander Zverev cut down on his mistakes and clawed through baseline rallies.
Despite failing to serve out the match at 6-5 in the second set, Alexander Zverev did not panic. He took advantage of a sloppy drop shot from Murray to start the tie-break and never looked back.
Alexander Zverev has now won 19 of his past 20 matches, including runs to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the Western & Southern Open title in Cincinnati.
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