Karen Khachanov is through to his second-consecutive grand slam semi-final after progressing past Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open.
The Russian – who also made the final four at last year's US Open – was in control of the quarter-final when Korda retired hurt with a wrist problem at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Khachanov led 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-0 when the American called it a day, and will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka next.
The number 18 seed had to work hard to take the opening set, with Korda initially saving himself when Khachanov served for it at 5-3, but the latter eventually came through on a tie-break.
Some ferocious and accurate hitting from the baseline was proving to be decisive for Khachanov, hitting 12 winners in each of the first and second sets.
Halfway through the second set, 29th seed Korda received a medical timeout for a right wrist issue that was clearly impacting his forehand, and from there he won just one more game before retiring.
"For sure, back-to-back semi-finals in a grand slam feels great," Khachanov said in his on-court interview after the match.
"Obviously not the way you want to finish the match. I think until a certain point it was very competitive, a very good battle. Sebastian beat one of my friends, Daniil [Medvedev], in three sets and won in five sets against [Hubert] Hurkacz. He is playing great tennis."
Data Slam: Khachanov serves up a treat
Although clearly aided by Korda's struggles later in the contest, Khachanov was impressive on his serve throughout, only being broken once when serving for the first set.
He was able to win 80 per cent (40 of 50) of points on his first serve.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Khachanov – 12/0
Korda – 4/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Khachanov – 27/18
Korda – 18/39
BREAK POINTS WON
Khachanov – 4/10
Korda – 1/3
Murray celebrates 1,000th ATP match with Queen's triumph over Popyrin
Andy Murray celebrated his 1,000th match on the ATP Tour with a battling victory over Alexei Popyrin at the Queen's Club Championships on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old became the fifth active male player to hit quadruple figures for tour-level matches, marking the milestone with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory to snap a four-match losing streak.
Murray holds the record for Queen's titles with five and will look to go deep in this tournament once more when he meets Australia's Jordan Thompson in the second round.
The two-time Wimbledon champion acknowledged the struggles of his lengthy career after this first-round triumph, though suggested he did not know about the landmark moment until just before play.
"I didn't realise, but my mum told me before the match that this was my 1000th match on the tour," Murray said in his on-court interview.
"A lot of matches and a lot of wear and tear in the body and it is not easy but I managed to push through."
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco and Richard Gasquet are the other active men's players to hit the 1,000-match mark.
That longevity has served well for Murray, who won his first match at the tournament in 2005 and holds a 32-9 record at the ATP 500 grass-court event since.
"During the match, it is difficult but great reward at the end for the hard work and effort I put into the match," Murray added.
"I have not got too many wins this year, it has been a difficult season but did well to come through in the end. Held quite a few tight service games and managed to serve it out well."
Alex de Minaur overcame Murray at Queen's last year en route to the final before losing out to Carlos Alcaraz, who also secured the Wimbledon title after.
Yet De Minaur will not have the chance to make the showpiece of the Wimbledon warm-up this time around, after losing out to Lorenzo Musetti.
The Italian swept the second seed aside with a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory, teeing up a second-round meeting with Brandon Nakashima.
Osaka beaten by inspired Zheng serving display at Berlin Open
Naomi Osaka bowed out of the Berlin Open after falling short in a three-set thriller against an inspired serving display from Zheng Qinwen.
The former world number one battled, but ultimately came up short for the second time in two weeks, enduring a 6-4 3-6 6-3 defeat.
The Japanese found herself a set down following a break point claimed in the fifth game by her opponent but rallied in the second to take the encounter to a deciding set.
However, Zheng, who served 10 aces in the final set, proved too powerful for Osaka to secure a second victory over the Japanese after two hours and 10 minutes at the Steffi Graf Stadium.
Zheng will play Katerina Siniakova in the last 16 on Wednesday, with either Jessica Pegula or Donna Vekic awaiting should she progress.
Data Debrief: Acing it
The victory for Zheng saw her serve 23 aces against Osaka, the highest tally in a single WTA match since Rebecca Marino vs Caroline Garcia in Guadalajara in 2022 (24).
Her success with her serving saw Zheng win 88 per cent of her first serve points, winning 44 of 50 during the match.
Osaka beaten by inspired Qinwen serving display at Berlin Open
Naomi Osaka bowed out of the Berlin Open after falling short in a three-set thriller against an inspired serving display from Zheng Qinwen.
The former world number one battled, but ultimately came up short for the second time in two weeks, enduring a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.
The Japanese found herself a set down following a break point claimed in the fifth game by her opponent but rallied in the second to take the encounter to a deciding set.
However, Qinwen, who served 10 aces in the final set, proved too powerful for Osaka to secure a second victory over Osaka after two hours and 10 minutes at the Steffi Graf Stadium.
Qinwen will play Katerina Siniakova in the last 16 of June 19, with either Jessica Pegula or Donna Vekic awaiting should she progress.
Data Debrief:
The victory for Zheng saw her serve 23 aces against Osaka, the highest tally in a single WTA match since Rebecca Marino vs Caroline Garcia in Guadalajara in 2022 (24).
Her success with her serving saw Zheng win 88 per cent of her first serve points, winning 44 of 50 during the match.
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