Andy Murray downs Denis Shapovalov to set up Madrid showdown with Novak Djokovic
- Planet Sport writer
- 4 May 2022
Former world number one rolls back the years to win back-to-back matches for the first time in 2022.
Andy Murray continued to impress at the Madrid Masters as he beat Denis Shapovalov to setup a showdown with Novak Djokovic.
The former world number one dominated the early stages against Canadian Shapovalov and quickly took the first set.
Shapovalov rallied to level things up with Murray starting to look tired, but he found a second wind to close out a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 success.
Murray will now face world number one Novak Djokovic on Thursday for a spot in the quarter-finals.
"I trained very hard the past four or five weeks and got my game in good shape," Murray said.
"My movement has been so much better than where it was at the beginning of the year and it makes a huge difference to my whole game.
"It allows me to make different decisions on the court. My movement won me that match tonight. I defended so many points.
"He has so much power and I managed to defend lots of points and that won the match for me, so I was really happy with that."
It will be the first time in five years that Murray has faced Djokovic, although his expectations have changed drastically since then.
"In theory I should have no chance in the match," Murray said.
"He's World No.1 and I've got a metal hip" 🤣@andy_murray #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/m3HJJwDZ2s
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 3, 2022
"He's obviously No. 1 in the world [and] I'm playing with a metal hip, so I shouldn't have a chance in the match.
"It's a great opportunity for me to see where my game's at and to play against him again.
"We've had so many great battles over the years in some of the biggest tournaments in the world.
"We played in the final I think of all four Grand Slams, we played here in the final, and I haven't had that opportunity to play against him for a long time.
"Didn't know if I ever would get that chance, so I'll enjoy it, I'll have a fantastic attitude in the match, give it my best and see where I'm at."