COUNTDOWN TO RIO: SUMMER SPORTS WEEK IN REVIEW
October 27, 2014 12:11 pm
Andy Murray is adamant his fight back against Tommy Robredo at the Valencia Open final will set him up for a big finish to 2014.
Just like in the Shenzhen Open final between the two a month ago, Murray saved five match points in a dramatic contest which lasted three hours and 19 minutes.
The 27-year-old eventually came through to win 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (10-8), the victory giving Murray 500 ATP Ranking points and moving him into the top non-qualified spot in the Race to London standings.
And after fighting back against the Spaniard for the second time, Murray believes he is finally finding some form just at the right time as the 2014 season nears an end.
"I know it was an incredible match. The tennis at the end and in the second set was high level. I played well at the right moments," Murray said.
"I don't know how I managed to come through it - I was very tired, Tommy was very tired as well. When you have to work hard for something it means more, you get more satisfaction from it.
"I kept fighting and it stands me in good stead for the end of this year and the beginning of next."
While Murray was able to lift the title in Valencia there was no such luck for Chris and Gabby Adcock as they suffered defeat in the French Open mixed doubles badminton final.
The Commonwealth champion Adcocks battled bravely but ultimately went down 21-9, 21-16 to Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmada and Liliyana Natsir.
And Gabby Adcock said: “It was a tough final – annoyingly we didn't play great. We started to find our way on the second but it was a bit too late.
“We’re both disappointed now, but I'm sure we'll be happy with a final in a few days time.”
Jade Jones was the jewel in the home fighters’ crown at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester as the Olympic champion claimed -57kg silver.
The 21-year-old fought off against Spain’s Eva Calvo in the final and, after the scores were level 4-4, Jones was on the wrong end of a sudden-death point and lost to her rival for the third time in a row.
“It’s frustrating losing on a golden point,” Jones said. “She’s a really good player and I’m getting better and better, but to lose golden point again, the finest of margins, it’s frustrating.
“She’s got long leg length and I like to stand and fight at a distance, so it makes it easy for her to kick me without me getting a shot back in. I just need to improve that.”
Elsewhere in Manchester, Rachelle Booth reached the women’s -57kg quarter-finals while Michael Harvey secured his first ever Grand Prix win in the men’s -68kg category with a golden point victory over Moldovan Vladislav Arventii before falling at the next hurdle to world champion Behnam Asbaghikhanghah.
There were first round defeats for Martin Stamper, Jordan Gayle, Andy Deer, Lyle Walker and Stella Whitehead while Asia Bailey and Feyi Pearce lost in the second round of the women’s -49kg and -58kg competitions respectively.
There was better news for Damon Sansum and Jade Slavin as they reached the quarter-finals of the men’s -80kg and women’s +67kg competitions, however world number two Lutalo Muhammad failed to defend his title with a second-round loss to Masoud Hajizavareh in the former.
Mahama Cho also arrived in Manchester as defending champion – in the men’s +80kg competition – and while he too failed to climb the top step of the podium after losing to Olympic champion Carlo Molfetta in the round of 16, the 25-year-old is still dreaming big for Rio.
“I always fight to the dying seconds no matter how much time is left, that’s how I fight, I never give up,” Cho said.
“Golden points can go either way, his timing worked well and he was the better fighter that’s why he won,
“It went right to the wire and I was expecting it, unfortunately it wasn’t me through to the next round.
“We’re still working towards Rio but it’s a long path. We’ve got the Grand Prix Final in Mexico and World Championships next year so we are constantly working towards it.”
© Sportsbeat 2014
