BIG CARROT FOR MURRAY
Semi-final spot will see Scot stay world No.1
Andy Murray has an extra incentive as he lines up to face American Sam Querrey in today’s Wimbledon quarter-final.
Having the stage for the 10th consecutive time at SW19, the Dunblane ace now knows that a semifinal spot will mean he retains his World No 1 ranking.
Rafael Nadal’s defeat on Monday by Gilles Muller means he can’t reach the lofty position and Novak Djokovic will have to win the tournament – if Murray loses to Querrey.
Against Frenchman Benoit Paire on Monday, it seemed Friday night’s epic four-set encounter with Italian Fabio Fognini when he came back from 5-2 down in the fourth to stop his opponent from taking the match to a final set, had a lingering effect on Murray.
He was broken in two of his first three service games and Paire served for the first set at 5-3. But as he did against Fognini, Andy battled back and won it on a tie-break.
His form improved and five more breaks in the next two sets gave him a 7-6 6-4 6-4 victory.
Murray said afterwards: “One of the most pleasing things about the match was that I felt like I was able to track down a lot of his shots. I came up with some good shots on the run and made it difficult for him to hit loads of winners past me. That’s a big part of my game.”
His quarter-final opponent Querrey reached the same stage last year but went out to Canada’s Milos Raonic and is looking to make his first Grand Slam semi-final. “Sam obviously likes the conditions here. He played really well last year,” said Murray.
“He’s had some good wins here, some tight matches as well. He’ll be confident going in. He obviously has a big serve. He goes for his shots. He’s a very aggressive player.”
Jamie Murray is relying on his partnership with former World No.1 Martina Hingis for Wimbledon success after a disappointing defeat in the doubles with Brazilian Bruno Soares.
The duo were seeded No.3 and came into the event on the back of two grass-court wins in Germany and at Queen’s.
But New Zealand’s Sam Groth and Sweded Robert Lindstadt had other ideas. Murray and Soares won the first set 6-4 but the Kiwi-Swede pair took the second 6-3.
Again the No.3 seeds went ahead 6-4 but a 7-5 fourth set win took the match into a deciding set which Groth and Lindstadt won 7-5.
Jamie’s mixed doubles run began with a comprehensive 6-3 6-0 win over Brits Neal Skupski and Anna Smith. Yesterday they defeated Czech pairing Roman Jebavy and Lucie Hradecka 6-3 6-4 to earn a place in the quarterfinals.