SHOCK FOR DJOK BUT MURRAY IN SEMIS
Lion-tamer Umaga gives tourists blues
TANA UMAGA has warned the Lions life is only going to get tougher after the former All Blacks captain masterminded victory over Warren Gatland’s tourists. The Lions were lacklustre, ill-disciplined and blunt as Umaga’s Blues ran out 22-16 winners at Eden Park, with Sonny Bill Williams putting on a masterclass. Losing ANDY MURRAY safely made it through to the French Open semi-finals on a day when Novak Djokovic hinted he may take a break from tennis after crashing out of the tournament. World No 1 Murray, left, took two hours and 39 minutes to beat Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-1 and now faces the opponent the second game of their 10-match tour to New Zealand’s weakest franchise is a huge blow to the Lions, who face the Kiwis’ best side in the shape of the Crusaders on Saturday.
Umaga believes that Gatland’s men are in trouble with three Tests against New Zealand to come.
“It’s tough for them,” he said. “Pulling a team he beat at the same stage last year, Stan Wawrinka.
But the talk of Roland Garros yesterday was of the repercussions of the quarter-final between Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.
Thiem won 7-6, 6-3, 6-0 and the last set in particular left together in such a short time from different countries with different styles, and then playing so many games in quick succession, is difficult.
“They want tough games before they face the All Blacks but they know how it is. I’m sure they’ll want to select certain games to focus on and, for me, those will be the Tests.”
Williams’ try before halftime helped the Blues to victory and he created Ihaia West’s match-winning score Djokovic, who will drop out of the top two in the world for the first time in six years when the new rankings are announced on Monday, shell-shocked.
When he was asked if he would take a break from tennis, he said: “Trust me, I’m thinking about many things, especially in the last couple of months.
“I’m just trying to sense what’s the best thing for me with a trademark offload. Umaga expects the talented midfielder to wear the No 12 jersey when the Tests begin.
“Sonny Bill is still coming back from 18 months out of the game and he’s had a stop-start season for us. We really wanted him to play 80 minutes because of what he can bring to our side,” said Umaga.
“He showed his hunger to play at the top level and that must be pleasing for the now. Obviously there have been a lot of changes with the team and so forth.
“I am excited to work with Andre Agassi and the new team and, at the same time, I have responsibility to the game itself, towards others.
“But we’ll see. Obviously it’s not an easy decision to make but I will see how I feel after