Murray into final 16 after jittery win
Three-time finalist Roddick crashes out, sparks off speculation on future
London, July 1: Andy Murray reached the Wimbledon fourth round on Saturday with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Marcos Baghdatis in a match which finished just past the 11 pm Centre Court curfew.
The fourth seed will face Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who clinched victory over Sam Querrey in the second longest match in tournament history, on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.
On another day of high drama at the All England Club, three-time finalist Andy Roddick was knocked out, a defeat which sparked more questions over his future in the sport. Murray, a semi-finalist for the last three years, triumphed at 11:02pm under the roof on Centre Court, two minutes beyond the deadline set by the local municipality for health and safety reasons.
It was the latest-ever finish at the All England Club.
Murray had broken to lead 5-1 just as the clock hit 11 pm and was allowed to serve out the match. “When I got up at 4-1, I tried not to sit down. I don't know what the rules are, maybe the first time that's happened here,” he said.
“Tough conditions. I was really struggling. I struck the ball a bit better under the roof and served better.” Murray took the first set 75 before Baghdatis levelled then tie by taking the second 6-3.
Just after 9 pm, play was stopped as the roof was closed. On the resumption, Baghdatis broke in the third set for a 3-2 lead before Murray survived a nasty-looking fall to level at 4-4. At 5-5 in the third set, Murray was docked a second point after his spare ball fell from his pocket onto the court during a rally for the third time.
He shrugged off that setback to take the set and start his race against time to finish the match which he did — but only just — against a physically wilting Baghdatis. David Ferrer came back from a set down to clinch a 2-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Roddick and goes on to face Juan Martin del Potro.
But it was Roddick’s farewell gesture to Centre Court which was the talking point. Roddick applauded all four sides of the court, blowing a kiss to the fans, many of whom would have witnessed his three agonising final defeats to Roger Federer in 2004, 2005 and 2009.
He lost in the last 16 in 2010, the third round last year and Saturday’s loss, also in the third round, will only increase speculation over the former world number one’s career.
“I don’t have a definitive answer,” said Roddick, when asked if Saturday was his last farewell to Wimbledon. Cilic reached the last 16 in spectacular style with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-7 (3/7), 17-15 win over Sam Querrey.
At five hours and 31 minutes, it was the second longest match in Wimbledon history.
At least the United States had the consolation of seeing two men into the last 16 — Mardy Fish and Brian Baker.
Tenth seed Fish, a quarterfinalist last year and playing his first tournament since undergoing a heart operation, beat Belgian wildcard David Goffin 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).
Fish will face French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a semi-finalist in 2011, who defeated Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Qualifier Baker’s fairytale return hit a new high with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Benoit Paire.
Baker lost six years of his career to an assortment of injuries that left him needing five different operations on a hernia, left and right hips and his right elbow. — AFP
(8/6), 7-6