SYDNEY, Jan 12: Andy Murray showed his fighting qualities once again, edging second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sydney Tennis Classic, here on Wednesday.
The former World No. 1 recovered from three set points on serve at 5-4 in the second set to overcome Basilashvili in an encounter that lasted three hours and 15 minutes on Ken Rosewall Arena.
"It was an unbelievably tough match," Murray said in his on-court interview. "He is hitting the ball consistently bigger than anyone on the Tour. I was having to do a lot of defending and running but my legs stood up well and at the end, I served really well in the last set."
Murray earned his first win of the season against Norway's Viktor Durasovic in the opening round in Sydney and backed this up against the Georgian, sitting deep behind the baseline as he soaked up Basilashvili's powerful groundstrokes using a combination of slices and flat backhands. Meanwhile Ons Jabeur defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-4 to cruise into the second round of the Sydney Tennis Classic, here on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Tunisian, seeded seventh in Sydney, came from behind in both sets to defeat Kvitova for the first time to set up a quarter-final against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit. The fourth-seeded Kontaveit had a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
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