MURRAY FINDS INNER BELIEF
Battling Andy refuses to lie down before rain calls halt
Andy Murray staged a magnificent fightback last night to keep his French Open title hopes al i ve against a marauding novak djokovic. The 28-year-old Scot looked down and out in their semi-final when he lost the first two sets comfortably, but then rallied superbly to become the first man at this year’s event to take a set off the world no 1.
Murray had the momentum at 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 3-3 when assistant referee Andreas Egli stepped in to pull the players off due to an imminent thunderstorm that had long been predicted.
It proved a wise decision as within five minutes heavy rain began to fall on the Roland Garros courts.
They will resume today at noon UK time with everything to play for and the Serb probably happier to have come off.
Even so, the break was a blow to a crowd that had become locked into an epic struggle. It was a contrast to the way the match had begun when the court had emptied out after the marathon between home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka.
If anyone had the best of the early exchanges it was Murray, and he convincingly saved a break point in extracting a backhand error from djokovic at 2-3.
He then pushed to 0-30 on his opponent’s serve before the match shifted decisively.
djokovic held and then the world no 3 played a dreadful game, conceding a love break with the help of one particularly hapless poke into the tramlines.
Murray admirably put that behind him and started well again in the second set, before throwing in another shocker at 2-2, setting up break point by sticking a straightforward drive volley into the net.
The set ended on an ignominious note when, with djokovic poised to break again for good measure and with the court open, Murray hit a smash three feet past the baseline.
It was enormously to Murray’s credit that he dug deep to set up a glorious finale to the third set, which saw him win 15 of the last 20 points.
The crowd were ignited at 5-5 when he ripped a forehand winner after running back for a lob and followed it with a geometry-defying forehand down the line.
The momentum was entirely with the Scot after closing it out before djokovic called for the trainer to look at the hip he had been flexing and went off the court for at least seven minutes — a ridiculously l ong time when private rooms are just behind the court entrance.
The Serb looked to have snapped his concentration but Murray, increasingly dictating with his backhand, roared back from 0-40 down in the second game to go ahead a break with a run of 10 points, only for the Serb to stem the flow with a break of his own.
Murray had the momentum when the predicted storm caused officials to step in and call off the match at 3-3 with everything to play for upon the midday resumption today.
Earlier, Wawrinka had broken local hearts by seeing off Tsonga 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 to make his first Roland Garros final.
Imbued with the confidence from beating his great compatriot Roger Federer in the quarter final, he just about had the greater self- belief when it mattered to bludgeon through the 14th seed in sweltering heat.
This latest near miss for Tsonga will be remembered for the 16 break points out of 17 he could not clinch, in spite of the backing of the Court Philippe Chatrier.
Wawrinka defied a partisan but generally respectful crowd — apart from a few ill-natured boos at the end — to come within one win of repeating his Australian Open triumph of 17 months ago.
Given the improvement we have seen from him in the approach to turning 30 — able to back up his majestic backhand with a solid, howitzer forehand — he has a genuine shot at the title regardless of who he plays.
Tsonga came in burdened by the huge expectation of a nation where tennis is the major summer sport, desperate for someone take the mantle of 1983 champion yannick noah.
Perhaps that contributed to him clocking up the horrendous break point conversion rate that was ultimately to settle the match.
Wawrinka proved himself a worthy finalist and insisted he had no fears as he bids to become the biggest outsider to take the title this century in tomorrow’s final.
‘When I play my best I know I can beat all the players,’ he said.
‘I’ve been playing really well since the beginning of the tournament. I’m surprised and really happy with how I’ve been playing.
‘I will have to focus on myself and try to bring my A game.’
Williams’ physical state after she initially seemed to struggle in her semi-final against Timea Bacszinsky before finally overpowering the Swiss. Williams said in a statement yesterday: ‘I have a kind of flu which makes it tough. I felt really terrible during the semis. I’m not sure how I got through the match. I just could not practise today.’ Her revival from the downcast figure in the first set to the player who ran away with the final 10 games on Thursday attracted much comment. Virginia Wade, Britain’s former Wimbledon champion, providing analysis for Eurosport, said: ‘She obviously didn’t feel well but she sure hit the ball incredibly well when she had to.’ Williams is on the brink of becoming the first woman to win the first two majors of the year since Jennifer Capriati in 2001. Victory would secure a third straight Slam title and she would go to Wimbledon with the chance of holding all four — amazing for someone who is 34 in September. Trying to stop her is 28-year-old Czech left-hander Safarova. A regular around the top 40 for the past six years she will move into the top 10, whatever happens.