Murray returns to quarters for first time since January

Andy Murray found a place in an ATP quarter-final for the first time in half a year as the Scot defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6(4) on Thursday at the ATP Stuttgart tournament.

The unseeded Scot ranked 68th, overcame the at-times unorthodox game of the Kazakh who beat him in the Indian Wells second round last March.

Murray duplicated his last-eight place from Sydney in January as he booked a win in one and three-quarter hours on the German grass.

 “It’s nice to be back at this stage,” the former No. 1 said. “This was a solid win and I’ll try and push through to the semis.

“When I was down in the second set it was frustrating, I was thinking of what I could do differently.”

Murray added: “Conditions were tricky with an inconsistent wind.

“Throw into the mix a pretty fast court and an opponent playing in that (unorthodox) style  and it’s difficult to get a balance between going for shots and giving him a chance to miss.

“I felt I did well.”

Murray won the first set but had to battle back from 5-2 down in the second  before taking victory in a tiebreaker.