Plenty of action to savour as Murray and Evans set for a semi-final clash, and future stars show their potential
• 2 MINUTE READ
The third day was certainly the charm at the Schroders Battle of the Brits as Andy Murray battled his way through another gruelling match, defeating James Ward for a spot in Saturday’s semi-final.
Evans made no bones about the fact that no-one here has viewed this event as any kind of exhibition and the quality on display these past three days are proof positive.
For Murray, who had made a point of saying he had set his expectations low, there were still positives, even if after three days on the bounce, the hip was feeling a little achy.
He said, after the match: "When I was playing Davis Cup in November, it was. My hip was sore when I moved. I’m feeling it a little just now but that was the best I’ve moved in the three matches. I’m delighted that I’ve got a rest day tomorrow because I’m very, very tired."
The former British and indeed World No. 1 will face the current British No. 1 who showed no ill-effects from a late finish on Day Two in the doubles. He breezed past Cameron Norrie in straight sets but knows that despite his form and obvious confidence, he still faces a battle.
Evans said: "There’s always more to beating Andy than tennis. You always think how good he was. It’s a difficult match but I’ll have to deal with that."
We do not need to look too far though to what might be, for the future of British tennis. Hot off the heels of an impressive singles debut against Ryan Peniston, that same tenacity made him take a fellow US collegiate player Paul Jubb the distance.
What exactly impresses about this pair? They both attack without fear and have a poise about them that suggests if they continue to work hard and take this experience back onto the Futures and Challengers, we should expect an encouraging upward trajectory.
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