Stuttgart (Germany) – Briton Andy Murray’s option to focus on preparing the grass for Wimbledon, starting with a challenger match last week, seems to have been the right one. This Friday, he won a big victory at the ATP 250 in Stuttgart, beat the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded number 1, and qualified for the semi-finals.

Murray took 1:40 to overcome Tsitsipas for the first time on the circuit, returning the defeat suffered in the first round of the US Open, when he came open 2 sets to 1 and took the return. This time, the Scot left no gap to his rival and closed the match in two sets, with the final score of 7/6 (7-4) and 6/3. In the semi-finals, he will face either the Australian Nick Kyrgios or the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

The matchup was well balanced, with both finishing with the same serve, both at 76%. Murray was slightly superior, added six points more than Tsitsipas (66-60) and got the better of the important points, saved the only break point he faced and took advantage of one of four he had in his favour. It was their first top-5 win since the 2016 ATP Finals.

Berrettini turns and also does semi

Second highest bidder for the title on grass in Stuttgart, the Italian Matteo Berrettini continues to progress in the competition. For his first tournament since Indian Wells, he is already in the semis, securing a place in the penultimate round by beating his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego this Friday, with the final score of 3/6 and 6/3 and 6/ 4.

In the next match, Berrettini will face local athlete Oscar Otte, who after beating Canadian Denis Shapovalov went through to the quarter-finals without having to play, counting on the withdrawal of Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. It will be the third time the German will face the Italian, having lost the previous two matches.