Murray wins in a tough match, Wawrinka cruises

Murray fights off Lopez in a tough battle, Wawrinka cruises

The Mubadala Championships kicked off today with a big match between world No. 6, Andy Murray and world No. 14, Feliciano Lopez.

Despite the fact the event is simply an exhibition and worth no points in the rankings, all the players are gearing up to win.

The first set started out tight, Murray played well, but Lopez matched his intensity. The set inevitably headed to a tiebreaker, where Murray took advantage of a few Lopez errors to run away with an otherwise tense set. The Scot takes the first set 7-6, 7-1 in the breaker.

The second set followed the pattern of the first set where both players battled giving up nothing. Lopez’s groundstrokes were powerful, catching Murray off-guard at times. Lopez got the break and took the second set 7-5.

The third set was particularly interesting and showed off the best in both players. Beginning with the Lopez service game at 3-3 in the third set, Murray got the break at 15. In the very next game, Murray made a few errors and struggled with the same confidence issues we saw in the 2014 season and Lopez broke back to tie it at 4-4.

Andy Murray (GBR) reacts after winning the second set of his match against Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day ten of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

In Lopez’s next service game, Murray quickly jumped out to a 0-40 lead. However, Lopez used strong groundstrokes and took advantage of some Murray errors to get the score back to deuce. Yet, in the end, Murray fought with grit and eventually got the break to give him the chance to serve it out.

Similar to the previous Lopez service game, Murray jumped out to a 30-0 lead in his service game. Yet, Lopez fought back and brought the game to several deuces and several blown match points. After a number of clinchers, Murray finally finished off Lopez to move into the second round where he will face world No. 2, Rafael Nadal tomorrow.

6 Andy Murray (GBR)	7	5	6
14 Feliciano Lopez (ESP)	6 (1)	7	4

The other first round match, was tighter than the score would show. The Swiss No. 2 and world No. 4, Stan Wawrinka faced off against Nicolas Almagro.

In his first match since opting for foot surgery in June of 2014, Almagro started out powerfully. After both men started out with a relatively easy hold, Almagro got a break to go up 2-1.

Wawrinka stormed back with a variety of cross-court shots to get the break back. Stan immediately followed up the break with a hold of his own to bring the score to 3-2. Each player held with ease in the following games.

In the Spaniard’s next service game, Wawrinka went on the offensive attacking his serve. Wawrinka broke at 15 in the service game to give himself a chance to serve out the set. However, Almagro would not go away that easily.

Nicolas attacked the serve and grabbed a 0-40 lead, but was unable to find the shot to secure the break back. Wawrinka grabbed the set 6-3.

More from Lob and Smash

In the second set, Almagro didn’t falter and kept the pressure on Wawrinka’s service game. Each one of Wawrinka’s holds required more and more energy, however, he managed to fight off all breakpoints.

On the other side of the net, Almagro struggled to hold serve and lost his in the third game of the set. From there, the set was still in reach and the Murcia native continued to do battle in the set.

In the end, the Swiss No. 2, Wawrinka was just too much to overcome. Almagro proved tough and showed that despite being off the court for six month, he still has what it takes to still with the top in tennis.

4 Stan Wawrinka (SUI)	6	6
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)	3	2

Stay tuned to Lob and Smash for tomorrow’s semifinal recaps:

Match #1: Andy Murray v. Rafael Nadal (8 a.m. ET)

Match #2: Stan Wawrinka v. Novak Djokovic (not before 10 a.m. ET)

Next: Lob and Smash 2015 Grand Slam Predictions

More from Lob and Smash

Home/Andy Murray