Both del Potro and Berdych Upset at Queen’s Club as Murray Advances
June 14, 2013 | By Erin Brown
It was a tough day at the Queen’s Club in England for two favorites. Juan Martin del Potro and Tomas Berdych both fell in the quarterfinals in their tune-up for Wimbledon.
To reach his first semifinal in almost a year, Lleyton Hewitt beat del Potro 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. Hewitt hit a backhand winner to put him in the lead 4-2, and he also had help from his opponent who had back-to-back double faults. del Potro took the second set, but Hewitt came back strong in the third set to beat the third-seeded del Potro. Hewitt’s next opponent will be defending Queen’s Club champion Marin Cilic.
Cilic had to beat Tomas Berdych in a close match to make it the semifinals. Berdych and Cilic faced multiple break points, but Berdych made a forehand error to give Cilic the lead in the first set 6-5. Berdych had multiple chances to break in the second set, but Cilic held him off and won the second set in the tie-breaker.
Also advancing was world number two Andy Murray, who remained on course for a third Queen’s Club title, moving through to the semifinals. Champs in 2009 and 2011 champion, Murray defeated 105th-ranked Benjamin Becker 6-4, 7-6(3), overcoming a break deficit in the second set before closing out Becker in a tie-break. Murray is now 25-5 on the year, and and will play the fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or American Denis Kudla for a spot in Sunday’s championship match.
Erin Brown
Intern
Erin Brown is an intern at Long Island and New York Tennis Magazine. She graduated from George Washington University with a degree in English, where she was also a member of the Club Tennis team. She may be reached by e-mail at erinb@litennismag.com.
