Murray passes physical test as old rival Del Potro is left frustrated
World No1 clinches win after marathon first set Argentine laments missed chances to cause upset
When Andy Murray beat Juan Martín del Potro in a four-hour saga at last year’s Olympics, both men reached such a pitch of physical and emotional exhaustion that they were forced to prop themselves up with their rackets.
In yesterday’s rematch, Del Potro arrived at a similar stage after 83 minutes. Having just seen a see-sawing first set escape his grasp, he folded his 6ft 6in frame over the net and hung there, staring at the red clay, for a good 45 seconds. Then he flung his water bottle passionately to the ground, sat down and buried his face in his towel.
Body language has rarely been so eloquent, for Del Potro knew the game was already up.
Handicapped by a groin injury, as well as the long-standing issues with his left wrist that prevent him from hitting through his backhand, he needed to establish an early lead if he was going to upset the top seed. Instead he double-faulted on his own set point, and never fully regained his composure.
“Too much frustration,” muttered Del Potro afterwards, when asked about this early display of despair. “I couldn’t believe that I lost that set, because I had many opportunities to win. I have been playing great, great points during whole, the first set.
“But this happens when you play against the No1 in the world or a great champion like Andy or Rafa [Nadal] or Roger [Federer]. I know when you play against these guys, and you’re playing much better than them, you must take the opportunities.”
Murray was clearly fortunate to receive this lifeline, when Del Potro served at 7-6 in the first-set tie-break. He had been forced to bring out the Murray scurry all too often in the first hour, as Del Potro wound up his gigantic pendulum of a forehand, and sent the ball screaming across the net with such force that the fans on Court Philippe Chatrier kept gasping in unison.
Although this was theoretically a neutral match, Murray also found himself playing the villain, so deep and farreaching is Del Potro’s international appeal. When Murray won a big point, he received a polite smattering of applause. When he lost one, the roars could be heard across the Champs-Elysées. Not that he cared over-much. He was deep in his carapace of concentration, knowing that he could not afford to waste any energy. Del Potro might be ranked a modest No 30 in the world, but he is a former US Open champion and this could yet prove to be a seasondefining match.
When Murray felt the urge to vent in the direction of his player’s box, he did all he could to resist it, even going so far as to say “Shush” loudly to himself, or place a finger over his own lips. Asked about this latest tic after the match, Murray was offhand. “What’s the big deal?” he replied.
“I was thinking between the points [about] what to do to try and give myself the best chance to win. That’s the most important thing. Not what happens three or four seconds after a point finishes.
“It’s what you’re thinking just before you go up to the line and how you reset after losing tough points. I did that really well today.”
One of those tough points came early on, when Del Potro served for the first set at 5-4, and Murray should have put a sitter of a forehand away for a break. Instead, he smacked the ball two yards long – the sort of miss that used to leave him stewing for a minimum of two or three games.
This time, though, he regrouped well enough to reverse the pressure straight back onto Del Potro, and eventually secure the break. From that moment, the pressure on Murray eased, and he began to plot his way into the last 16 for the 25th consecutive grand slam. The last time he had fallen before the fourth round was all the way back in 2010.
“Since the start of the clay-court season, the second and third sets were the best I have played, for sure,” said Murray, who closed out his 7-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory by reeling off a sequence of eight consecutive games. “I came here thinking I was going to try to just get through the first round and hopefully feel better each day. That’s been the case so far.
“Some of the things I did today, if I can do them consistently well for the next week or so, then I could do really well. But I also know where I have come from, even just 10 days or so ago. I was not playing well. So I need to respect that and work hard in practice and concentrate.
“I’m working things out whilst I’m playing the matches, and the really, really important part of my game is making adjustments. The tactical side is very important for me. Even when I went behind today, I wasn’t worried.”
‘I came here to get through the first round and feel better every day. That’s been the case so far’