Updated on
Summary Andy Murray has played down talk of a player strike as questions over the ATP calendar resurfaced.
Andy Murray made a winning return to the Thailand Open Thursday to reach the last eight and later played down talk of a player strike as questions over the ATP calendar resurfaced.Murray dispatched German number 88 Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-2 as he takes part in the Asian event for the first time since losing the final to Roger Federer six years ago.After his win Murray softened remarks he made earlier this month about the possibility of a player strike over the demands of the tour calendar, which some top players believe could be trimmed to avoid injury and burn-out.Were only proposing small changes, a few less mandatory events and some more rest periods. Tennis is in a great place right now and no one is yet talking about a strike, said the world number four.There are just a few minor things wed like to see changed and we hope to sit with the ATP and other officials and discuss them. Two or three more weeks off a season is what we are thinking of.Murray had proposed a player meeting in Shanghai at the Masters 1000 which begins a week from Monday.But a meeting of the elite players is looking unlikely, with Roger Federer missing the tournament to rest and top-ranked Novak Djokovic a possible absentee due to injury.Murray was joined in the quarter-finals by French second seed Gael Monfils, who returned to Bangkok for the first time since 2008 and produced a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 defeat of Colombian Santiago Giraldo.Monfils said that though he ran away with the opening set against Giraldo I was expecting a tough match and thats what I got.Defending champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the fourth seed, was stunned by Donald Young as the American outsider produced a 6-1, 6-7 (0/7), 7-5 upset at the Impact arena in their second-round clash.Young will play in only his third career quarter-final at the ATP level when he faces off against Japans Go Soeda, who put out German Tobias Kamke 6-2, 7-6 (9/7.
Featured
