Andy Murray, of Britain, hits his bag after losing the first set of a match against Marius Copil, of Romania, during the Citi Open tennis tournament in Washington, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
WASHINGTON — Andy Murray sat in his changeover chair and sobbed into a towel after winning his third consecutive three-setter to reach the Citi Open quarterfinals.
Murray worked deep into the night to get past 93rd-ranked Marius Copil of Romania 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a match that ended just past 3 a.m.
If Murray came to Washington in hopes of getting in some extra work as he tries to return to form after hip surgery in January, he is certainly accomplishing that.
After rain delayed earlier action, three-time major champion Murray and Copil didn’t even start playing until midnight as Thursday turned to Friday. By the end, there were 100 or so fans in the main stadium at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open.
After taking a 5-0 lead in the opening-set tiebreaker, Murray dropped seven consecutive points to hand the lead over to Copil.
Former No. 1-ranked Murray is now at No. 832. He returned from an 11-month absence in June, playing just three matches before arriving at the Citi Open.
In Friday’s quarterfinals, he will face 19-year-old Alex de Minaur of Australia.