Serbs Surge Through To Quarter-finals

© Barclays Dubai Tennis ChampionshipsIvan Ljubicic will play defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Murray ousted by Tipsarevic as Serb players dominate in Dubai

Andy Murray was upset by Janko Tipsarevic and Nikolay Davydenko was forced to retire after losing the first set of his second round clash with Michael Berrer on Wednesday, as the Serbs showed their dominance on an exciting Wednesday at the Championships.

With Djokovic already through, Tipsarevic’s result will delight Dubai’s sizeable Serbian population who are always vocal in their support.

Third seeded Murray was beaten 7-6 4-6 6-4 by his Serb opponent in a battle that remained in the balance until the final point of the two hour 29-minute centre court clash.

"It’s one of my biggest wins," said Tipsarevic. "For me, Murray is a contestant to be number one at the end of the season. I'm happy because I was aggressive, yet smart enough to win today. With Andy it's a little bit of a mind game. You need to get aggressive. But if you're too aggressive just rushing to the net, he's going to pass you very, very easily."

Neither player managed to take charge as they exchanged one break each in the first set, with Tipsarevic failing to serve out the set at 5-4. A break in the opening game decided the second set after Murray struck a fine crosscourt winner, and Tipsarevic crept in front in the final set by breaking to lead 2-0 when Murray made a backhand error.

Murray failed to convert any of five break points when down 3-1, but he held off a match point and broke at 5-3 with another crosscourt winner before Tipsarevic broke again with a smash to close out the contest on his second match point.

Murray admitted he had used the match to try some new tactics for use at some upcoming tournaments in the United States and beyond.

"I would have liked to have won, but it's not the end of the world," said Murray. "I need to make sure I'm playing my best tennis at Indian Wells and Miami, where I need to be in top shape. I was trying different things,” he added.

Davydenko had doubted whether he could play at all this week after injuring his left wrist in a fall during a semi-final in Rotterdam 10 days ago, and he was wary after his opening round victory.

"Yesterday after the match, I have like thinking okay, I have some pain but maybe I’ll recover and there’ll be less pain," said Davydenko. "During warm up I was feeling okay and my wrist was holding - I didn’t have any more pain. But in the match it's different.

“In the warm-up, you know, I need to return faster, like fast and play try to do something. Start to get swollen and have more pain. I was thinking about it, get too risky now and better to retire. It's disappointing for me."

Second seed Novak Djokovic was stretched by fellow Serb Viktor Troicki before taking charge in the third set to win 3-6 6-4 6-2.

"I wasn't happy with the performance overall today," he admitted. "But I won, that's what matters. He was a better player for a set and a half. Unfortunately, in the first set and a half there were more unforced errors than winners. But I managed to come back, and that's positive."

Croatia also has a strong presence in the quarter finals with sixth seed Marin battling victory over Austrian qualifier Stefan Koubek, eventually winning 6-2 7-6. The lanky Croat took control of the first set by winning five consecutive games to lead 5-1, but the second set was much more of a challenge. Cilic broke no less than three times, for 1-0, 3-2 and 5-4, only for Koubek to break back in the next game each time. Koubek then led 5-0 and 6-3 in the tiebreak before Cilic staged a huge fight back, saving three set points to take it 8-6.

In other matches, fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France has felt unwell this week and fell 7-5 6-3 to Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic, seventh seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny defeated German qualifier Bjorn Phau 7-6 6-4, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis ended the run of Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 6-3 3-6 6-1 and Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-5.

The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, which is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free, continues until February 27th.

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