Spaniard Albert Ramos earned the most important triumph of his tennis career after beating Briton Andy Murray in three sets (2-6, 6-2 and 7-5) and reaching the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, an unprecedented feat in his career.
Ramos achieved his first victory against a world number one in two hours and 32 minutes in a frantic match in which he was trailing 4-0 in the third set, and in which Murray even had an opportunity to improve to 5-1.
In the end, Ramos achieved his goal when a Murray slice attempt ended on the net. Before that, Ramos broke Murray’s serve seven times, wearing him down and setting up the upset.
The key for the Spaniard was the second set, in which the Catalan player, ranked 24th in the world; surprised Murray by playing long points to win and tie the affair 1-1.
Murray’s reacted at the start of the third set taking a 4-0 lead and serve that seemed decisive, but his inconsistency got the best of the world’s number one. Absent from the tennis circuit for a month due to an elbow problem, Murray allowed Ramos to Albert to tie the third set to four all.
Murray even led late 5-4 lead, but Ramos finished his incredible comeback winning the last three games, to finish the upset.
Murray, a three-time semifinalist in Monte Carlo, leaves the Principality defeated. His 2017 season as the defending world’s number one has seen him win only one title, which he achieved in Dubai. So far in 2017 Murray has 13 wins, and four losses.
Ramos will play in the quarter-finals against Croatian Marin Cilic who beat Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2 and 7-6 in about two hours.
In another match Spaniard Rafael Nadal, defeated German Alexander Zverev in two sets (6-1, 6-1) to move to the quarterfinals of a tournament he has won a record nine times.
