Murray topples Potro
Wawrinka defeats Fognini to sail into last 16, Cilic drubs Lopez
Paris, June 3: Andy Murray downed longtime rival Juan Martin del Potro to reach the Roland Garros last 16 Saturday while French hopes were overshadowed by a bitter feud between two of their top stars.
World number one Murray triumphed 7-6 (10/8), 7-5, 6-0 for his seventh win in 10 meetings with del Potro whose challenge fizzled out after squandering four set points in the 87-minute opener.
Murray, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2016, will next face either John Isner of the United States or Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
“I expected a very tough match. Whoever won that first set would have the momemtum as it would have been very difficult to come back in these heavy, slow conditions,” said Murray.
“He was playing much better in the first set. He had chances in the first set, he double faulted on set point.”
In a titanic first set, del Potro wasted four set points then saved two before Murray pounced for the opener when the Argentine star narrowly miscued.
The 28-year-old slumped over the net and stayed bent over during most of the changeover.
del Potro, playing in Paris for the first time in five years after a series of injuries, was quickly a break down in the second set. He retrieved it when Murray served for the set in the 10th game before handing the advantage straight back.
Murray seized his lifeline, a fourth ace giving him a two-set lead.
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic continued his smooth progress seeing off Feliciano Lopez, who was limited by a neck injury, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Croatian seventh seed Cilic will next meet South Africa’s Kevin Anderson who matched his best run at Roland Garros with a 67 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 set win over Britain’s Kyle Edmund.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka, strode into the last 16 with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-0, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini. — AFP