Murray survives scare to join Nadal in Wimbledon last 16

LONDON: Andy Murray survived a scare from Fabio Fognini as the defending champion scraped his way into the Wimbledon last 16 along with title rival Rafael Nadal on Friday.

Murray didn’t have it all his own way against Fognini, but the world number one eventually subdued the eccentric Italian 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to secure a 10th successive appearance in the Wimbledon fourth round.

In a tetchy Centre Court clash, Murray complained about Fognini taking too long between points as the 28th seed, who was given a point penalty for a visible obscenity, shrugged off a midmatch injury to push the Scot to the brink.

Murray had to save five set points to avoid being forced into a deciding set, reeling off five successive games to secure his 105th win on grass and remain on course for a titanic semi-final showdown against Nadal.

The 30-year-old, who faces France’s Benoit Paire for a place in the quarter-finals, is bidding to become the first Briton to successfully defend a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry at Wimbledon from 1934-1936.

“Obviously the end of the match was tense. It was a very up and down match,” Murray said.

“I didn’t feel like it was the best tennis, but I managed to get through. I was pleased to get off in four sets.”

Having won his 10th French Open crown without dropping a set last month, Nadal has made the switch from clay to grass with ease.

His 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win against Russian 30th seed Karen Khachanov equalled the Spaniard’s personal record of 28 successive sets won at Grand Slams, a blistering streak dating back to this year’s Australian Open final.

Nadal’s second and most recent Wimbledon title came in 2010 and the 15-time major winner hasn’t been past the fourth round for six years.

But world number two Nadal is in formidable form heading into only his second fourth round tie in his last five visits to Wimbledon.

His opponent is 16th seed Gilles Muller, who defeated Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last 16 for the first time at the age of 34.

“I played fantastic for a set and a half but it got tougher after that. He started to hit stronger so I was happy to get through in three sets,” Nadal said. — AFP

Green with envy

- Masters golf champion Sergio Garcia was in the Royal Box on Centre Court sporting the green jacket he won in April when he captured his maiden major.

Azarenka name game

- Victoria Azarenka said she chose the name Leo for her son because she didn’t want him saddled with a name that could be ridiculed. “I thought it’s just a simple name but very strong. I also know kids like to make funny names with normal names, so it’s hard to make anything up with Leo, so I was protecting my son there. And also, I’m a Leo as a horoscope, so that’s the closest resemblance.”

All Alona

- Elina Svitolina will face French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko for a quarterfinal spot but will be referring to her as Alona. “The names translate differently in Latvian. Everybody calls her Alona, like Russian-speaking people,” said Svitolina.

Hair are you?

- Austrian world number 217 Sebastian Ofner stunned 18th seed and US number one Jack Sock in five sets to make the third round on his Grand Slam debut. The 21-year- old qualifier came into Wimbledon having made just US$16,000 all year but is already guaranteed at least US$116,000 by making the last-32. Ofner is also making a name for himself on Twitter where his immaculately groomed and slicked hair has won praise for its steadfastness. “Ofner hair would not move in 53mph wind storm he is working the heavy gel slicked back hair,” tweeted former player and TV pundit Brad Gilbert.

No sign of the times

- All England Club commercial director Mick Desmond told AFP that there are no plans to have advertising hoardings or sponsorship logos plastered around the courts. “The clean look and a sense of an English garden is very much the DNA. It’s been like that for many years. We cherish the traditional the heritage,” said Desmond. “What we don’t need to do is to put big badges and banners all around the place because it would take away what Wimbledon is. “People know who our partners are. You don’t have to hammer people over the head by putting logos everywhere.”

WHO’S SAYING WHAT “He’s a great guy. I don’t have any problems sitting next to him. We chat. I mean, I would say he’s one of the nicest guys on tour.”

– Aljaz Bedene on sharing a dinner table with Gilles Muller on Thursday night. On Friday, Muller knocked him out of Wimbledon.

“Everytime he rings, he says ‘hi Spartan’ and when I go out to play he tells me to ‘be a Spartan’.”

– Greece’s Maria Sakkari on the advice she receives from British coach Mark Petchey. Sakkari’s father is, not surprisingly, from... Sparta.

“I’ll maybe give him a mean, angry look before the match.”

– Germany’s Mischa Zverev on what he can do to unsettle Roger Federer when they meet in the third round.

“I am home sooner than I wanted to be, but you know what? I reached my goal, to play tennis again, to play tennis at Wimbledon and to compete in the sport I love. The last six months were difficult but now I can push restart. This is only the beginning of my new journey and I will come back stronger. See you next year, my dear Wimbledon.”

– Two-time champion Petra Kvitova tweeting having reached home in the Czech Republic after her second round exit. Kvitova was playing just her third tournament since fighting off a knife attacker at her home in December.

“I never look at the draw. I never know who I’m playing. So next round I know I’m playing Kontaveit. That’s the only thing I know. I don’t really look forward.”

– Caroline Wozniacki on looking ahead, or not

NUMBERS UP 2/ 11 --

break point conversion rate for Kei Nishikori in his defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut