Gulbis stuns Murray in Montreal

 

Originally published on: 09/08/13 00:00

Murray, who was unbeaten throughout the grass court season, saw his winning run come to an end after 13 matches as he slipped to a 6-4 6-3 defeat.

The world No.2 had spoken about improving his consistency at the Masters 1000 level events earlier this week, but he failed to reach the quarter-finals for a third successive year in Canada as he was ousted by the talented Latvian.

“Better keep your expectations low, enjoy the moment,” the world No.38 said after the match. “I'm feeling better. I'm feeling fitter, faster, more confident with my strokes, I just tried not to show any weakness."

Murray was not the only big name to fall on Thursday as Juan Martin Del Potro, a winner in Washington last week, was toppled by home favourite Raonic 7-5 6-4.

Raonic, who endured a disappointing grass court season, broke his opponent on five occasions to book an intriguing quarter-final with Gulbis.

While Raonic is through to the last eight of his home event for a second successive year, his compatriot Pospisil continued his astonishing run with a 7-5 2-6 7-6(5) victory over world No.6 Tomas Berdych.

World No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic looked like he might be following Murray, Del Potro and Berdych out of the draw, but the world No.1 recovered from a set down to defeat Dennis Istomin 2-6 6-4 6-4.

Likewise, Rafael Nadal was made to work hard for his 7-6(6) 6-4 victory over Wimbledon semi-finalists Jerzy Janowicz, who served for the opening set and had an early break in the second.

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