Murray escapes sticky situation
A GIANT spider loomed in the corner. A baby cried. Every now and then, the silence was split by agonised X-rated screams.
Yet Andy Murray just about managed to avoid turning his match against Martin Klizan into a total horror show.
That said, it was far from a convincing performance from the world No1, who fell a set behind and had to break back at the end of the final set to prevent a tiring five-setter.
As it was, it still took three hours and 33 minutes for him to complete a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 win against the world No50.
ITV commentators had to apologise for some of the language used by Murray, who threatened at one point to sit down in protest if a ‘spidercam’ hanging from a zip-wire high over Court Suzanne Lenglen was not moved.
During the fourth set, play was held up further while a woman removed a crying infant and throughout the match, Murray’s box was in the firing line for some pretty fierce invective.
“When I’m frustrated or down, I don’t always project a lot of positivity on the court,” he said. “Sometimes I think for my team it’s difficult to know exactly how I’m feeling or what it is that I need when I’m on the court.
“So that helps everyone, my whole team. They also feed off that a bit as well.
“The last few months have obviously been tough, there has not been a lot of good stuff going on out there. When I’m getting frustrated, it’s not easy for them either.
“But this was a good match for me to get through today. And hopefully we get a chance to do better in the next one.”
That will be against Juan Martin Del Potro, who rather than a horror show found himself caught up in a real ‘weepie’.
Opponent Nicolas Almagro was forced to retire with a knee injury at the start of the third set with the match at one set all, and Del Potro helped him pack up his bag and consoled him as he lay crying on the ground, below.
“I tried to find some good words for that moment,” said Del Potro. “I said to him, ‘Try to be calm’. Try to think about his family, his baby. And sometimes the heart is first before the tennis match or the tennis life. And I think he has everything to fix this problem and come back on tour stronger.”
Del Potro is no stranger to injury, of course, having missed almost three years with a series of wrist injuries.
He was still on the mend when he lost to Murray in the tennis final at the Rio Olympics. But he got his revenge later that year, beating the Scot in the Davis Cup as Argentina went on to replace Great Britain as holders. Although he is still only seeded No29 due to his lack of activity, Del Potro is a huge step up from Murray’s opponents so far. But Murray is convinced that, despite the problems he was suffering in training a few weeks ago, his game is ready for the challenge. “He is one of the best players in the world when he’s fit and healthy,” said Murray. “But I definitely feel like I’m capable of winning that match. “I’m playing way better than I was two weeks ago, and today’s match will have done me a lot of good because physically I pulled up well. “I will gain a lot of confidence from that and also I hit a lot of balls out there today, more than in the first round.”