Montreal Masters: Murray, Berdych & Del Potro dumped; Djokovic, Nadal battle through
Andy Murray got knocked out by Ernest Gulbis in the Montreal Masters on Thursday
Andy Murray must have suffered his fair share of unpredictable weather, coming as he does from the fickle climes of his island nation. But if Murray thought he left those uncertainties back home, he was in for an unpleasant shock. Ernest Gulbis, nearly as predictable as the weather, dealt an upset when he shocked Murray in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup.
There was also much to cheer for the home fans – 11th seeded Milos Raonic ousted Juan Martin Del Potro and the unseeded Vasek Pospisil served up a bigger shock when he dumped Tomas Berdych in three hard fought sets. Top seeded Novak Djokovic was also stretched the distance, before he prevailed over Denis Istomin. Rafael Nadal was tested too, but Jerzy Janowicz failed to stretch him as the Pole succumbed in two sets.
Gulbis scored his first victory over Murray in his sixth meeting with the Scot, with a surprisingly easy 6-4 6-3 verdict that handed the Wimbledon champ his first defeat since Rome in May. Gulbis broke serve in the ninth game of the first set, before serving out in the next game to take the lead. The Latvian traded breaks at the start of the second set, before clinching a decisive break in the eighth to ensure victory.
His opponent in the next round will be the Canadian hope Raonic. The world No.13 reached the quarters in Montreal for the second year running, breaking Del Potro five times in a match that swung back and forth before Raonic sealed victory with a break at love. Gulbis has never taken a set off Raonic in three previous meetings.
Pospisil made it a memorable day for the home fans when he took out Berdych in a three set encounter that lasted two hours and 37 minutes. It was a day of many firsts for the 71st ranked Canadian – his first victory over a top ten player helping him reach the quarters of a Masters event for the first time in his career.
“I don’t really know what’s going on now,” said Pospisil, obviously elated at his success on home soil. “Right now it’s okay. It was pretty emotional, I mean, just the hard work that I’ve put in. I mean, to have my first top 10 win here, in front of that crowd, was extremely emotional.”
Up next for the Bahamas resident is Nikolay Davydenko. The Russian veteran won an easy straight set battle against his compatriot Alex Bogomolov, Jr., who made it to the tournament as a qualifier. At 32, Davydenko, the former world No.3, is writing the final chapters of his career. He is currently ranked 47th after a period of inconsistent results.
Nadal faced intense scrutiny from Janowicz towards the end of the first set. The Spaniard had three set points at 5-4, but the Pole survived all three points to hold serve and draw even. Janowicz went a step further when he broke in the next game, but surrendered the advantage immediately to let the set slip into a breaker. Eventually, Nadal took the set at the fifth time of asking to establish control.
But Janowicz made a rousing start to the second set, when he raced away to a 3-0 lead. The Pole had an opportunity to take the double break, but Nadal fought off with typical resilience to claw back to even terms in the eighth game. The world No.4 made the decisive break in the ninth game before sealing victory on his serve.
Nadal’s next opponent is a qualifier. Marinko Matosevic won an engaging two and a half hour battle with Benoit Paire to book his date with the Spaniard. The most promising quarter-final will feature Djokovic and Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman overcame an initial stutter to come from behind against the enterprising Kei Nishikori and clinch his place in the last eight.
Scores:
(11) M Raonic def. (6) J Del Potro (7-5, 6-4)
(1) N Djokovic def. D Istomin (2-6, 6-4, 6-4)
E Gulbis def. (2) A Murray (6-4, 6-3)
(4) R Nadal def. (15) J Janowicz [7-6(6), 6-4]
N Davydenko def. A Bogomolov Jr. (6-4, 6-3)
V Pospisil d. (5) T Berdych [7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5)]
(7) R Gasquet def. (9) K Nishikori (1-6, 6-3, 6-3)
M Matosevic def. B Paire [7-6(7), 6-7(10), 6-3]