SHENZHEN OPEN 2014
Murray Digs Deep, Faces Robredo In Shenzhen Final
Shenzhen, China
by ATP Staff
| 27.09.2014
Robredo
© AFP/Getty Images
Tommy Robredo will challenge Andy Murray in the Shenzhen final.
With qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on his mind, Andy Murray dug deep to reach the Shenzhen Open final on Saturday, fighting from a set down to defeat Juan Monaco 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
From 3-3 in the second set, Murray reeled off nine straight games to beat Monaco in one hour and 42 minutes. In the third set, Murray dropped just four points on serve and converted all three of his break point chances.
"He started the match well," said Murray. "I was struggling a little bit with my timing. Obviously, the conditions were very hard today. But I feel good and I'm into my first final for a while. I'll try tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be a good match. Robredo's been playing some good tennis this year, so it'll be tough. I'm enjoying myself here and winning always helps.
"It's been a tough year for me. The first few months coming back from surgery were hard, then I lost a bit of confidence. But I've felt better the past few months and hopefully I can have a strong end to the season."
The Scot needs a strong finish to the season to mount a late charge in the Emirates ATP Race To London, in which he is currently in 11th position, and will look to end a 15-month title drought at the inaugural Shenzhen Open.
Against Tommy Robredo in Sunday’s final, Murray will be bidding for his first title since his historic Wimbledon triumph in July 2013. The Dunblane native has a 3-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over Robredo and has won their past three meetings.
The 32-year-old Robredo will contest his 21st ATP World Tour final after defeating Santiago Giraldo 6-1, 6-4. The Spaniard, who has a 12-8 finals record, is looking to win his first title since victory in Umag in July 2013 and his first hard-court title since triumphing in Metz seven years ago.
Robredo inched ever closer to his 500th tour-level win (493-310 record) as he fired 10 aces and converted four of his seven break points to beat Giraldo in 70 minutes. Victory saw Robredo level his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Giraldo at 2-2.
Robredo has a 35-20 record on the season and will contest his second final, having finished runner-up on clay in Umag in July (l. to Cuevas).