Shanghai Rolex Masters 2015: Thursday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule
Andy Murray came through a pulsating encounter against John Isner on Thursday to book his place in the quarter-finals of the 2015 Shanghai Masters.
The world No. 2 lost the opening set against the big-serving American but fought back well to take the match in two-and-a-half hours.
Rafael Nadal came through a tough clash with Milos Raonic in two sets to take his place in the quarter-finals also. He will face Stan Wawrinka, who needed three sets to overcome Marin Cilic.
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Top-seed Novak Djokovic had a much easier time of it, as he made the last eight after a routine straight-sets victory over Feliciano Lopez. But South Africa's Kevin Anderson knocked out Kei Nishikori.
Here is a roundup of Thursday's results and a closer look at the key clashes:
| Round | Result | Score |
| Round 3 | (3) Andy Murray bt. (13) John Isner | 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 |
| Round 3 | (1) Novak Djokovic bt. (15) Feliciano Lopez | 6-2, 6-3 |
| Round 3 | Bernard Tomic bt. (13) Richard Gasquet | 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4 |
| Round 3 | (5) Tomas Berdych bt. (10) Gilles Simon | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Round 3 | (8) Rafael Nadal bt. (9) Milos Raonic | 6-3, 7-6(3) |
| Round 3 | (4) Stan Wawrinka bt. (14) Marin Cilic | 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-4 |
| Round 3 | (12) Kevin Anderson bt. (6) Kei Nishikori | 7-6(10), 7-6(3) |
| Round 3 | (16) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt. Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 |
Thursday Recap
The opening set between Murray and Isner was a serving masterclass, as neither player offered up a single break point. A tiebreak was needed to separate the pair, and Isner forced a mini-break with a deft drop shot and went on to seal the set.
Murray came out fighting in the second, but Isner held firm. Unlike the first set, both players conceded a couple of early break chances, but they were saved. The Scot finally converted a break point to go 5-4 up and served out the set to draw level and force a decider, per Sky Sports Tennis:
Isner's serve kept him in contention early in the third, the 30-year-old saving three break points in a nine-minute game to move 2-1 ahead. At 3-3, Murray went up a gear. He produced a quite magical lob to go 0-30 ahead on Isner's serve and sealed the break after some impressive defence.
The American almost broke straight back as he went into a 15-40 lead. But after Murray had saved one break point with a big second serve, he pulled a superlative backhand pass out of the bag to move to deuce. He held serve to move 5-3 ahead and eventually take the match. Murray will now face Tomas Berdych—who beat Gilles Simon in straight sets—in the quarter-finals.
World No. 1 Djokovic breezed past Lopez in his last-16 clash, winning 6-2, 6-3 in 70 minutes, per TennisTV:
The Spaniard simply couldn't handle Djokovic's ruthless consistency, and he never really got into the match.
Two breaks of serve handed the Serbian the first set in no time, and although Lopez put up more of a fight in the second, Djokovic came through with ease. He will now face Bernard Tomic in the last eight.
Nishikori lost in straight sets to Anderson, but it was an enthralling encounter that lasted over two hours.
The first set was decided in a mammoth tiebreak that the world No. 10 eventually took 12-10. The second set also went the distance, as the pair exchanged breaks for 6-6.
Anderson was more ruthless the second time around and took the second-set tiebreak 7-3 to dump his Japanese opponent out of the competition and advance to the last eight.
Nadal impressively overcame the challenge of world No. 9 Raonic in two sets, taking the first 6-3 before winning a second-set breaker 7-3.
In a 100-minute clash, the pair fought out a string of high-intensity exchanges, but the 14-time Grand Slam winner eventually got the better of the Canadian.
A hard-fought match between fourth-seed Wawrinka and 14th-seed Cilic saw the Swiss star come out on top despite a valiant fightback from the Croatian.
Cilic started strongly as he went a break up in the first set, but Wawrinka broke back twice to secure the opener 7-5, despite receiving treatment for an injured shoulder, per TennisTV:
An even tighter second set followed, and a solitary break for Cilic had him serving for the set at 5-3.
Wawrinka saved a set point and broke back on the way to forcing a tiebreaker. An outstanding passing shot gave him a match point, but he couldn't see it out as he backhanded into the net, allowing the resilient Cilic to fight back and level the score.
Once again, little separated the pair in the final set, with Wawrinka's clinical conversion of his only opportunity to break proving the difference in the end.
Tomic looked in good shape as he cruised comfortably through the opening set of his match, denying Richard Gasquet even the opportunity to break him. Sky Sports Tennis share the stats as he swept past the seeded Frenchman in under half an hour:
The second set was a more even contest. Gasquet again failed to earn any chances to break his opponent, but saved all three break points Tomic had, including a crucial point at 5-5.
Gasquet ruthlessly raced to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker, and took the first of his five set points after Tomic pulled a solitary point back.
A narrow final set followed as the pair again failed to break each other, though this time it was Gasquet who was unable to convert his opportunities.
With Tomic leading 5-4, the Frenchman served to stay in the set. Tomic fought his way to deuce, and despite multiple chances to hold, Gasquet could not close out the game. The Australian finally earned an advantage of his own, though it took him three opportunities before finally sealing match point.
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