Andy Murray moved back to number two in the world rankings after reaching the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open by beating Gilles Simon in a three-set match that lasted almost three hours.
The clash ended just after 1am local time and left the British No1 with little time to recover ahead of tonight’s showdown with Tomas Berdych.
Murray lost the opening set 6-2 but hit back to level the match, a repeat of the 2008 final, by winning the second 6-4 and then took a 3-0 lead in the third. However, the Scot was pegged back to 3-3 by world No 17 Simon and eventually won after a tie-break.
After the third-round tie, which lasted 176 minutes, Murray said he expected to be in bed “by about 3.30am” and was focusing on getting some rest before facing Berdych.
“It’s very different playing in the evening, the ball doesn’t bounce particularly high,” added Murray, who had never previously progressed beyond the last eight since the tournament moved onto clay.
“He was taking my time away and hitting close to the lines and making it very difficult. I managed to turn it around. I probably could have finished the third a bit quicker if I had taken some of my chances but he fought.”
Murray will return to number two in the world after defending champion Roger Federer suffered a surprise defeat.
Federer, who was returning from a two-month lay-off, lost 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 against Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
“I’m disappointed with my match,” said Federer. “Today Nishikori played better and the best man won.”
Rafael Nadal safely booked his passage into the quarter-finals of the tournament as he saw off Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-3 in just under an hour and 15 minutes.
