Andy Murray's Washington clash with Taylor Fritz rained off, Dominic Thiem rallies to reach semi-finals in Austria
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Updated 04/08/2023 at 08:44 GMT
There was disappointment for fans in Washington when the mouthwatering contest between Andy Murray and top seed Taylor Fritz was rained off. But Austrian tennis fans were celebrating on Thursday when Dominic Thiem advanced to the semi-finals in Kitzbuhel. The former US Open champion needed three sets to get the better of Arthur Rinderknech on home soil.
Thiem roared on by home crowd to reach semis with comeback win over Rinderknech
Andy Murray’s blockbuster Citi Open clash with Taylor Fritz was postponed on Thursday due to rain, while Dominic Thiem reached the semi-finals of the Austria Open.
Murray, who beat Brandon Nakashima in the opening round for his first win since Wimbledon, will now face top seed Fritz on Friday in Washington.
Local hero Frances Tiafoe also faced a delay, as his meeting with qualifier Shang Juncheng was pushed forward due to the wet weather.
Before then, Grigor Dimitrov was a 6-4 6-3 winner over Emil Ruusuvuori.
Dimitrov, resurgent of late, was on top for much of the match and pulled out one stunning retrieval late in the second set to show his enduring quality.
He will face Ugo Humbert in the quarter-finals after the Frenchman beat Yosuke Watanuki 6-0 6-2, while J.J. Wolf also made it to the last eight with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over Michael Mmoh.
Jordan Thompson led 5-2 against Christopher Eubanks and Tallon Griekspoor was 6-4 1-6 1-0 up against Gael Monfils when both matches were suspended.
That makes for a packed order of play on Friday, when Britain's Daniel Evans will also be in action against Alexander Shevchenko.
In Austria, home favourite Thiem put his supporters through the wringer before beating Arthur Rinderknech to reach the semi-finals.
Thiem won the tournament back in 2019, at a time when he was one of the top players in the sport.
A wrist injury hit him hard after winning the US Open in 2020, but he is back on the up and two wins away from a second title in Kitzbuhel.
Rinderknech looked like being the villain of the piece when breaking in the first game of the match and taking the opening set on the back of that solitary break.
Thiem, who served two double faults in the opening set, was much better in the second and three aces and one break of serve helped him level the match.
With a partisan crowd roaring him on, Thiem found the one break of serve he required to wrap up a 4-6 6-3 6-4 success in two hours and 21 minutes.
"It was another great, great night here," Thiem, who rallied from a set down for a second match in a row, said. "The first game was horrible but from then on it was really good against an opponent who is playing great tennis at the moment."
Thiem will face Laslo Djere in the semi-finals following the latter’s 6-4 6-2 win over Pedro Cachin.
"It's my first semi-final of the year and I couldn't have chosen a better place," Thiem added. "Everything is coming together here.
"The incredible support of the home crowd is something I can rely on every single match, which is such a huge advantage for me. I also have a lot of experience playing here. It's my 13th or 14th time. I am super happy to be in the last four."
Sebastian Baez eased past Alex Molcan in straight sets and will take on top seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry after the latter battled back from a set down to beat Daniel Elahi Galan 6-7(6) 6-3 6-4.
There was an upset in the WTA event in Washington, as No. 2 seed Caroline Garcia suffered a 6-2 6-3 defeat to Marta Kostyuk.
Jessica Pegula had no trouble in easing into the quarter-finals however with a 6-3 6-4 win over her American compatriot Peyton Stearns.
In Los Cabos, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas came from a set down to beat Nicolas Jarry 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-2 in a quarter-final clash lasting almost three hours.
The Greek had to dig deep to mount a comeback, facing a barrage of 40 winners from the Chilean but ultimately managing to edge a second set tie-break to draw level before pulling away in the decider.
Tsitsipas will face Borna Coric or Ilya Ivashka in the semi-finals, with Alex de Minaur meeting Dominik Koepfer in the other semi following their wins over Tommy Paul and Aleksander Kovacevic respectively.
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