Murray, Wawrinka knocked out

PARIS, April 20

Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas dumped world No. 1 Andy Murray out of the Monte Carlo Open 2-6 6-2 7-5 on Thursday after firing back from 0-4 down in the final set to take his place in the quarterfinals.

Murray, who suffered an elbow injury in March and made his return from a five-week layoff on Wednesday after a first-round bye, won the opening set in 48 minutes before losing concentration.

Left-hander Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 24th in the world and the 15th seed, ripped through the second set in 36 minutes and refused to give up after the Scot had romped to a 4-0 advantage in the third with victory beckoning.

The Spaniard won four games in a row before Murray, his serve misfiring, applied some late pressure. But Ramos-Vinolas was implacable as he won the next two with back-to-back breaks and served for the match.

Murray saved one match point before hitting a return into the net to hand Ramos-Vinolas an impressive victory. 

Pablo Cuevas joined Ramos-Vinolas as a giant killer when the Uruguayan No. 16 seed did not face a break point in dispatching Stan Wawrinka.

Barely 90 minutes after Murray had exited, Cuevas recorded his first victory over a member of the top 4 when he put Wawrinka to the sword in a stunning 6-4 6-4 victory.

Cuevas produced a string of winners and rarely got pressed behind the baseline in his first meeting against Wawrinka. 

Nadal storms past birthday boy Zverev

Rafael Nadal didn’t gift Alexander Zverev the birthday gift he desired the most, with the Spaniard scoring a commanding 6-1 6-1 Round of 16 victory in 69 minutes. 

Nadal, who is attempting to win his 10th title here, will next face 10th seed David Goffin, who recorded his sixth victory in nine meetings against sixth seed Dominic Thiem (7-6(4) 4-6 6-3). — Agencies