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Round 2 of the Shenzhen Open 250 tournament in Beijing, China continued on Thursday, with the top two seeds, David Ferrer and Andy Murray, in action for the first time. Both men are chasing valuable rankings points in the race to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London. Only the top eight players in the world get a place at the unique tournament, and with four players remaining, the competition is truly firing up.
Andy Murray faced Indian Somdev Devvarman, while David Ferrer faced Serb Victor Troicki. Also in action was sixth seed Santiago Giraldo, hoping to avoid following other seeds Varek Pospisil and Gilles Simon out of the tournament.
Results- Thursday 25th
Round 2
A Murray (2) beat S Devvarman 6-3 6-3
L Lacko beat R Berankis 6-4 7-6(1)
S Giraldo (6) beat T Kokkinakis 6-4 6-3
V Troicki beat D Ferrer (1) 6-3 6-4
Andy Murray started his Shenzhen Open campaign with a routine victory over Devvarman, powering through five consecutive games at 3-3 in the opening set to take the first and earn an early break in the second. He was pegged back temporarily and let his frustration boil over slightly, but regained his composure to record a comfortable win.
David Ferrer, first seed in Shenzhen, fell in a shocking loss to Troicki. The Serb has been at a career-high 12 in the world and outclassed a rusty David Ferrer in straight sets. Ferrer will look to Beijing 500 next week as a chance to put this disappointment behind him. Elsewhere, there was a win for sixth seed Santiago Giraldo in a day that saw all matches finish in straight sets.
Schedule – Friday 26th
Quarter Finals
T Robredo (4) v A Seppi (8)
V Troicki v S Giraldo (6)
J Monaco v R Gasquet (3)
L Lacko v A Murray (2)
Friday is Quarterfinals day at the Shenzhen Open, and the matches offer contain some interesting battles. Tommy Robredo opens proceedings on Friday against Andreas Seppi, both players consistent baseliners in a match which could produce some epic rallies. David Ferrer’s conquerer, Victor Troicki, takes on another seed in the form of Santiago Giraldo in a match that is hard to call.
Richard Gasquet plays Juan Monaco later in the day, before Andy Murray plays Lukas Lacko for a place in the semi-finals. The potential of a Murray Gasquet semi is a great prospect.
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