Andy Murray gained revenge on Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas but was pushed all the way in a gruelling three-hour encounter 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 to make the Barcelona Open semi-finals on Friday.
Ramos-Vinolas beat the world No 1 on Murray’s return from an elbow injury in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters last week.
He threatened to repeat that upset when he served for the match in the third set.
However, Murray, who accepted a late wild card to the event in the Catalan capital to gain match practice ahead of next month’s French Open, battled back to edge out the world No 19 in a final set tiebreak.
“It was obviously a very tough match,” Murray said.
“It was kind of the opposite of the match we had last week where probably today he deserved to win. He created a lot more chances, he served for the match and couldn’t quite get it.
“Last week I had 4-0 [in the third set], I felt like I had all of the chances. Sometimes on clay matches happen this way, so very happy to get through because it was very tough.”
Ramos-Vinolas is in the form of his life having risen to a career-high ranking after reaching the final in Monte Carlo and he dominated the opening stages, taking five straight games after Murray started with a comfortable hold.
Murray edged the second with the only break in the 10th game.
The Scot, though, failed to build on that momentum as he was broken in the first game of the third set.
However, Ramos-Vinolas had to take an injury timeout after twisting his ankle when leading 2-1 and Murray pounced to break back at 2-2.
Ramos-Vinolas had the chance to serve it out when he broke again for 5-4, but nerves seemed to get the better of him as three errors handed Murray the break back.
Murray raced out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak and saw it out as Ramos-Vinolas’s efforts over the past two weeks finally began to take their toll.
The Wimbledon champion faces Dominic Thiem in Saturday’s semi-finals after the Austrian ended Japanese lucky loser Yuichi Sugita’s unlikely run to the quarters 6-1, 6-2.
Sugita lost in qualifying and was only handed a place in the main draw after compatriot Kei Nishikori’s late withdrawal with a wrist injury.
Thiem had far too much quality for the world No 91 as the Austrian wrapped up victory in under an hour on court.
Rafael Nadal also enjoyed a comfortable afternoon as his quest for a 10th Barcelona title continued unhindered with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Korean qualifier Hyeon Chung.
The 14-time grand slam champion had to battle back from a break down in the first set to take it on a tiebreak before romping through the second.
“I gave him a bit too much respect,” Nadal said. “At the start he was dominating, but I think once I broke back to 3-3 the match was more in my hands.”
Nadal will be the favourite to reach the final when he takes on Argentine Horacio Zeballos, who beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-1, in the last four.
* Agencies
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
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FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
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England's Ashes squad
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The Perfect Couple
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz