Andy Murray on Thursday earned a chance for revenge against Stefanos Tsitipas, with the pair set to face off in the quarter-finals of the ATP Stuttgart event.
The unseeded, 68th-ranked Scot defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6(4) after last reaching the quarters in Sydney in January on his way to the final.
Top seed Tsitsipas booked his place over Swiss teenager Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-4 with the contest briefly paused early in the second set with the Greek seed in control up a set and 2-0.
Tsitsipas won his only previous match with Murray last August in the US Open first round.
Tsitsipas came good in his first match of the grass season after a first-round bye and wasted no time in switching his all-court game into grass mode.
The wild card entry managed only four aces against nine for number 200 Stricker but broke the 19-year-old twice.
“My game is built for grass courts, I can 100 per cent have good results on this surface,” Tsitsipas said. “But it might take a bit of time.
“I want to get the most out of my game and push it to the limit.”
The 23-year-old who has lost in the first round in three of four Wimbledon appearances, said Murray will be a tough customer on the German grass courts originally curated by Wimbledon groundsmen in 2015 when the event made the switch from clay.
“Andy is one one of the best grass players. He’s been out (injured) but he’s been getting some good wins against some of my peers,” the seed said.
“His game is absolutely there, he’s one of the favourites here.
“He’s had a lot of grass battles and a lot of good wins.”
Main photo:- A frosty handshake at the net after Andy Murray lost to Tsitsipas in US Open 2021 1st round, the Greek took an 8 minute bathroom break before the decisive 5th set which lead to rule changes.
