MURRAY WARY OF TRIO
In-form rivals make Scot tread carefully Novak’s at break-ing point
ANDY MURRAY admitted he was the odd man out in the French Open after booking a semi-final slot yesterday.
He finally beat Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-1 7-6 6-1 after a sluggish start to set up a last-four showdown with Stan Wawrinka tomorrow.
But as he eyed up the other players in the semis, Murray said: “They are all obviously playing extremely well.
“Rafa Nadal’s had a great clay-court season, as has Dominic Thiem. Stan Wawrinka, this tournament, has played great and won in Vienna, so he is obviously confident.
“Whereas I came in playing garbage! I’m the odd one out in the semis but hopefully I can keep it up.”
Upset
Nishikori made a stunning start and Murray twice allowed himself to be broken before the moment that fired up the Scot and saw him book his fourth successive Roland Garros semi-final.
It came courtesy of controversial umpire Carlos Ramos, who was accused of losing his mind by Novak Djokovic last week and also upset Nadal.
This time he punished Murray for throwing the ball up but not serving, which resulted in the world No.1 being hit by the loss of a serve.
That forced a huge second serve which Nishikori returned long and Murray roared: “Let’s go.”
He immediately broke his opponent twice and was off and running.
“Obviously for a couple of points after that I was fired up because I was frustrated,” said Murray.
“It felt to me like it was a strange decision. I have never seen anyone get ® from IAIN STEWART in Paris a warning after they have missed the ball toss.
“I broke the following game but Kei played a poor game to break – I didn’t do anything special.
“But that was a critical period of the match because he started way better than me. From there I started to do a bit better.”
Wawrinka beat Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3 6-1 and is after revenge after being beaten by Murray in the semis last year.
The Swiss said: “It’s going to be interesting. Last year I was playing really well. I was confident. He was playing better than me on that court.
“Again, it’s a different year. I think he’s struggling a little bit since the beginning of the year but a champion like him finds a way to win matches, he’s playing better and better.
“But I know the way I’m playing so far and hopefully I can win.” ® from IAIN STEWART