On the eve of the 10th anniversary of Andy Murray’s first Wimbledon title, the former champion – the one with the metal hip – turned back the clock to those heady days of his pomp.
For two hours and 52 minutes he stood toe to toe with Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world No.5, as he fought tooth and nail to keep his hopes alive at this year’s Championships.
Centre Court rises for @andy_murray who leads two sets to one.
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2023
To be continued tomorrow…#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Zn5nkdXF3f
For almost two hours of that struggle, he was half a step behind the Greek but then in the second set tie-break, Murray did what he has done so many times on Centre Court: he flexed his muscles and ripped the initiative from his rival.
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As the crowd roared their approval – a noise made all the louder by the closed roof – Murray was back in the match. This was just like old times and this is what Murray had worked for since he underwent hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019.
He may not have looked it as he ran and chased and fought and scrapped but deep down, Murray was a very happy man.
When they were forced to stop due to the 11pm curfew, Murray was leading 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-4. For most of the first two sets, Tsitsipas had held the upper hand – but only just.
He had served with ferocious power (eight aces and 20 unreturned serves) and he had fired his forehand like a laser-guided missile. It was a thunderous shot that time and again left Murray stranded in no man’s land.
Not that the Scot was not showing off his own rare skills. There were points that were crafted and conjured from his vast experience of playing on a grass court and on Centre Court in particular (this was Tsitsipas’s first visit to the famous old stadium).
Then there were points that were outmuscled as Murray went on the attack from the baseline. His only problem was finding a way to keep the ball away from the Greek’s forehand.
And then in the second set tie-break, he unleashed his first serve in all its glory. It had been missing at the start of the first set and had made regular but not lengthy appearances from then on but now it was rock solid. And as the crowd backed their man and the pressure mounted on Tsitsipas, Murray romped through the shootout, won the set and was back on level terms.
He continued in the same vein in the third set. Breaking serve in the first game – with considerable help from the Greek – he was relentless on his own serve. He never gave Tsitsipas so much as a sniff of a chance. This was Murray’s court and Murray’s crowd and only the late-night curfew could stop him.
There was a brief moment of concern: Murray slipped at the back of the court and howled in pain as he tumbled to the floor. Grabbing his left hip, for a second it looked serious but, no, he was back up and serving out the set in a matter of seconds. Braveheart lived to fight another day.
The pair will play to a finish on Centre Court on Friday afternoon, second match on.
Source: Wimbledon
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