Cilic Continues Rankings Rise

Marin Cilic continued his fine run of form with his second title in three weeks as he claimed victory at Delray Beach. The Croat added this victory to his Zagreb title two weeks ago and a runner's up spot in Rotterdam last week to rise four places in the rankings to 25. Cilic will be looking to push back into the top 20 following a disappointing second half of last year.

Elsewhere Ernest Gulbis rose to a career high eighteenth following victory in Marseilles this weekend. Gulbis claimed his fifth ATP title with a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who did not move this week.

In fact it was a quiet week at the top of the men's rankings with no movement inside the top ten. Kei Nishikori was a big loser though, dropping five places to twentieth whilst a strong showing from Pablo Andujar reaching the Rio Open semi-final sees him rise six places to 34th. Andy Murray will be wary of Andujar's form after being drawn against him in the opening  round of this week's tournament in Acapulco.

A first round appearance in Marseilles pushed promising young Brit Kyle Edmund into the top 300, whilst it was a quiet week elsewhere for the British boys. The girls also had a quiet week with neither Laura Robson or Heather Watson taking part in any competitions. Nor will they be playing this week as Robson continues to recover from a wrist injury whilst Watson retired in a qualifying match in Brasil.

The women's rankings saw more change at the top than the men. Despite losing in the first round to Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber rose two places to 6th whilst Simona Halep followed her in rising two places to 7th. Petra Kvitova's lack of action meant she dropped from 6th to 9th whilst a quarter-final showing from Jelena Jankovic was not enough as she fell one place to eighth.

The Dubai champion, Venus Williams celebrated a fantastic week with a fifteen place rise to move back inside the top 30 at 29th; only her second WTA title in four years. The other big mover inside the top 100 was the Japanese first seed, Kurumi Nara. Her maiden WTA victory in the Rio Open catapulting her fourteen places to 48th.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Stuttering Murray Scrapes Into Quarters

Andy Murray survived a second round scare in Rotterdam as he narrowly beat young Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-4 3-6 6-3.

After breezing through his opening round match 6-3 6-3 against Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Murray struggled against the World number 113.

He started strongly, breaking twice to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set. The tenacious youngster then broke back, giving Murray only a single break advantage. This was all he needed though, taking the opening set 6-4.

Much to Murray's annoyance, Thiem refused to go quietly, the 20-year-old swinging freely as he pegged Murray back. The frustration showed after Thiem got the desired break, Murray smashing his racket into his foot. The Austrian showed no sign of nerves as he took the second set 6-3.

Murray rediscovered his rhythm in the third set, battling to break early. From there it was simply a matter of holding serve, as the Scot eventually ground out a 6-3 victory to progress to the quarter-finals.

Playing in his first tournament since his Australian Open defeat to Roger Federer, Murray is aiming to replicate his Rotterdam experience in 2009 when he overcame Rafael Nadal in the final. In order to do that though he will have to overcome Marin Cilic in the next round.

Fresh off the back of claiming his 10th ATP Tour title last week in Zagreb, Cilic is in imperious form, unbeaten in seven matches and seeking vengeance after his Queen's final loss to Murray last year.

Cilic overcame fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 6-4 on his way to the quarter-final.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Murray Powers Into Fourth Round

In his first real test of this year's Australian Open, Andy Murray produced his best tennis, beating the twenty-sixth seed Feliciano Lopez 7-6(2) 6-4 6-2.

As the fourth day heatwave finally ended Murray faced his first seeded played in the tournament, overcoming the challenge with ease as he won in just over two hours.

Murray came into the match with a 7-0 winning record against the Spaniard and his victory extended this run. Lopez is a left-handed player and it is notably documented that Murray enjoys playing lefties, attributing to growing up playing with his brother Jamie.

After the match Murray told Sky Sports, "It's been a good start. It was very tricky conditions the first couple of matches with the heat but today was beautiful conditions to play in."

The match did not start well for Murray as he was broken in his opening service game for the second consecutive match. However he broke back instantly as the match started in scrappy fashion.

The errors continued to fly from both rackets as the first set advanced to a tie-break. Murray gained an early mini-break and ground out the first set courtesy of a Lopez error.

The first set galvanized the Scot and he broke instantly at the start of the second. The rest of the set passed by uneventfully as both players held their serve unchallenged, Murray taking it 6-4.

By this point Lopez cut a beaten figure as he was broken twice in the third set to find himself 4-1 down. Murray ruthlessly saw out the match playing a couple of stylish winners before a Lopez error gifted him the match.

In the fourth round Murray will play record-breaking Frenchman Stephane Robert. With a three set victory over Martin Klizan, Robert became the first ever 'lucky loser' to advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Should Murray beat Robert he will face the daunting prospect of a match against either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter finals.

Published on SEaT Capital.