Andy Murray reaches quarterfinals in France, Sabalenka cruises to Madrid Open final

Former world number one Andy Murray has secured a place in the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, France, after defeating French player Laurent Lokoli in three sets.

Murray, ranked 52nd in the world, won 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, claiming his sixth match point at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole. The victory marked the first time that the 35-year-old has achieved back-to-back wins since Indian Wells in March.

Murray will face another Frenchman, Luca Van Assche, in Friday’s quarterfinal.

Andy Murray progresses to quarterfinals at ATP Challenger Tour

Murray’s match against Lokoli saw the Briton take the lead in the first set, before breaking serve for a 5-2 lead in the second. Despite failing to take two match points, Murray took a one-set lead.

However, heavily backed by the home crowd, Lokoli recovered to take the second set after saving two more match points. In the third set, Murray converted a third break point to lead 5-3. Although Lokoli saved a fifth match point, Murray eventually claimed the victory at the sixth attempt.

Sabalenka dominates in Madrid Open semi-final

In the women’s singles semi-finals of the Madrid Open, Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka eased past Greece’s Maria Sakkari in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-1. The world number two dropped just five games in the match, earning a comfortable victory over her Greek opponent.

Sabalenka will now face world number one Iga Swiatek in the final. This will be her second consecutive clay-court final against the Polish player, having lost to her in the Stuttgart final last month.

Sabalenka, who won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, is hunting her second Madrid title in three years, having won the tournament in 2021.

Burrage loses opportunity to become British number one

Jodie Burrage, the British tennis player, has missed her chance to replace Emma Raducanu as the British number one after losing to Belgium’s Greet Minnen in the second round of a Challenger event in Saint-Malo. Burrage, who is 23 years old, was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Minnen. Victory would have moved Burrage above Raducanu, who is currently out of action for “a few months,” in the British rankings.

Andy Murray’s victory in the ATP Challenger Tour in Aix-en-Provence marks a significant achievement for the former world number one.

Similarly, Aryna Sabalenka’s dominant win against Maria Sakkari in the Madrid Open semi-finals cements her position as one of the top female tennis players in the world.

Meanwhile, Jodie Burrage’s missed opportunity to become the British number one highlights the competitive nature of tennis and the need for consistent performance to maintain one’s ranking.