Britain's Andy Murray reacts as he plays against Austria's Gerald Melzer during the second round of the ATP Qatar Open tennis competition in Doha on Wednesday. The world number one star Murray claimed his 26th consecutive victory on Wednesday night with a
Doha: World number one Andy Murray claimed his 26th consecutive victory on Wednesday night with a battling 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 win over Austria's Gerald Melzer to reach the Qatar Open quarter-finals.
Murray's 2 hour 23 minute match proved the most exciting of the evening though, and possibly the whole tournament so far.
In a 78-minute first set, Melzer, playing some inspired tennis, saved eight set points before eventually succumbing in a hard-fought tie-break.
The pair traded baseline passing shots, with Melzer the world number 68, matching Murray and looking like he could bring the world number one's winning streak to an end. As the match wore on, Murray looked increasingly frustrated by his own game and some of the line calls.
"I was a bit lucky to get through," said Murray. "He played great, great tennis, he was winning large parts of the match."
He added: "It was a really good match. I was happy with how I handled it. It wasn't easy because I was having to do a lot of defending and I wasn't able to impose myself as I would've liked. But the positive was in the important moments I stayed strong."
Murray played agianst Spain's Nicolas Almagro in the last eight later yesterday.
