Murray wins after running on empty

By Bill Scott Aug 17, 2006, 23:37 GMT

Andy Murray returns a volley from fiftheeth seed Roby Ginepri of the United Staes during their third round match of the ATP Masters in Mason, Ohio Thursday, 17 August 2006. EPA/MARK LYONS

Cincinnati - Unseeded Andy Murray fought through for another against-the-odds victory Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters a day after stunning Roger Federer.

The 19-year-old Scot whose career took a leap in quality the day before when he upset the Swiss number 1, ignored his aching legs and lungs to manage a 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-4 victory over American Robby Ginepri in slightly more than two hours.

Murray, ranked 21st, came back after trailing a break in the final set and scored the improbable win as Ginepri, also running out of puff, lost serve to hand Murray the game.

'I was struggling at the end, but I had to keep believing,' Murray said. 'I was able to break him - not because of my good play but because of his errors.'

The teenager, with 13 matches over 16 days in his legs, said that he knew the finishing line was close.

'When you're tired and you know there are only two or three games to go, you just fight for it,' Murray said.

Both men was drained at the end of a match where Murray's first- serve percentage was a mere 35 percent.

Spain's Rafael Nadal sharpened up his US Open preparation as he advanced into the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 defeat of German Tommy Haas.

Nadal, a third-round upset victim last week in Toronto, pronounced himself more than pleased with the effort in just under two hours, which featured 27 winners and just 18 unforced errors.

The 20-year-old world number 2 lost just two points on serve heading into the final game, when he had to salvage a break point before sending Haas out when the 14th-seeded German missed on a drop shot.

Nadal was easily able to stay in contention for the title a day after rival Federer was upset.

'I feel a lot better about my game. I'm happy for this win today,' Nadal said. 'This was a good test for the US Open. I had some doubts, but now I don't. I was playing badly last week, but today I improved a lot.'

Nadal won the last of his five 2006 titles in June, when he beat Federer for a second straight French Open trophy.

Haas came in with victories in 14 of his last 18 matches, after lifting his third title of the season in Los Angeles.

Nadal will next play compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero, who put out Swede Robin Soderling 7-5, 6-4. Fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic kept his motivation high for a spot in the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai as he reversed a run of two defeats against Dominik Hrbaty, defeating the Slovak 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last eight.

Ljubicic had won the pair's first five matches before losing in the Davis Cup final last December and again on clay in Rome.

'The motivation to make Masters Cup is great for me,' said the Croatian, currently ranked third in the world. 'I know that I'm in a great position and there's a great chance that I'm gonna make it.'

Ljubicic beat Guillermo Coria and lost to Roger Federer and David Nalbandian in round play at his debut in the eight-man event in November 2005 in Shanghai.

'Until I'm mathematically in, I'm gonna really fight as hard as I can to get there.'