Andy Murray Reaches First Clay Final in 7 Years

| by Zachary Wimer

For the first time since 2016, Andy Murray will fight for a title on red clay but this time at an ATP Challenger event.

Seven years ago, Murray played final in Madrid, won in Rome, and he also played a final at Roland Garros. Now, he suffered first-round exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid and opted to compete at the ATP Challenger event in Aix-En-Provence in France after receiving a wild card.

Already in the first round, the former world no. 1 clashed with Gael Monfils but managed to win the match in two sets. Little did he know that he will have to fight against three more French players at the tournament.

First, he defeated Laurent Lokoli in three sets and he also outplayed the highest-ranked teenager on the ATP Tour, Luca van Assche. In the semifinals, Murray took on former juniors world no. 1, Harold Mayot.

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The first set of the semifinal match was a real battle with no break points until the eighth game. Then, Murray had two chances to break but he couldn't use those. However, in the twelfth game, the Scot had two more chances and this time he succeeded to win the first set 7-5.

After gaining a one-set advantage, Murray was ruthless in the second set. First, he saved two break points and then won five consecutive games. He even had a chance to bagel his opponent with two match points for 6-0, but Mayot saved those.

However, in the seventh game, Murray used his fifth match point to win the match 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-En-Provence where he will meet the highest-seeded Tommy Paul from the United States.

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