• Abierto Mexicano Telcel

Murray forced into Acapulco fightback... again

Andy Murray recovered from losing the opening set 6-1 © AP

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Andy Murray survived an injury scare and had to stage yet another fightback in Acapulco to get into his first semi-final since Wimbledon.

He battled past Gilles Simon 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2 but then admitted he may need to improve his preparations after starting slowly in all of his matches at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament.

Murray said: "In all the matches so far I have not started very well. I lost my first service game in every match and that has not helped because my opponents have gained confidence.

"It's not easy starting from behind. I managed to turn the game at the end of the second set, making sure I was not making so many unforced errors.

"I found a way to win the match even though I was feeling I was not playing my best tennis. I'm glad that I managed to do that.

"Maybe I just try and warm-up better, maybe practice a little bit closer to the matches."

Murray dropped the opening set 6-1 but came from a break down in the second to clinch it on a tiebreak and emerged unscathed in the deciding set to seal a victory.

There were also concerns for the British No.1's fitness in the opening set after he slipped on court and appeared to tweak a groin muscle, but he managed to complete - and win - a 44-shot rally soon after.

Murray, who had been forced to come from a set down against Pablo Andujar in his first match at Acapulco, began sloppily.

He cut a frustrated figure on court late in the second set, too, smashing his racquet on the ground as Simon continued to capitalise on the Scot's poor start.

Murray was facing an exit in straight sets, trailing 5-3 in the second, but managed to force a tiebreak in which he dropped only four points.

After taking a 3-0 advantage in the deciding set, Murray dropped only two games as he completed the comeback.

Since undergoing surgery on a back injury last September Murray had only reached two quarter-finals, at the Australian Open and Rotterdam.

His opponent in the semi-finals in Acapulco is Grigor Dimitrov after the fourth seed overcame Ernests Gulbis 4-6 7-6(2) 7-5.

Three-time champion David Ferrer was forced to retire from his quarter-final against Kevin Anderson with an injury midway through the second set despite winning it 6-2. Alexandr Dolgopolov will be Anderson's next opponent after he beat Ivo Karlovic 6-4 7-6(4).

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