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.
“We’re only proposing small chances, 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 thing we’d 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.
“There is no rush,” said Murray. “I never said anyone wanted to strike, we hope it doesn’t come to that. But we do want some small changes. I don’t think we’re talking about anything major.
“We’d like to talk and see what can be done. It would be good to see changes made sooner rather than later.”
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 that’s what I got. Maybe I had a good start, but I felt I was slowly improving everything in my game. I was moving much better in the second and third sets. I was also hitting my shots better, I just felt better on the court.”
Monfils last played Bangkok when he lost a semi-final three years ago to compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Monfils has played consistently but not spectacularly this season, now reaching his ninth quarter-final but still without a 2011 title.
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 Japan’s Go Soeda, who put out German Tobias Kamke 6-2, 7-6 (9/7).
