Murray slays the giant – but not before giving Kim a scare
IN a valiant Centre Court battle, Andy Murray slayed the giant of the tennis world and secured his place in the final eight at Wimbledon last night.
At times, his wife Kim struggled to watch the action as the British number one slugged it out with 6ft11in Ivo Karlovic – the tallest man in the sport.
She winced and covered her face with her hands, as her husband fought over a gruelling three hours.
The British number one was served up 29 aces by the Croatian who holds the record for the fastest serve at 156mph and towers eight inches over 6ft3in Murray.
But despite his opponent’s physical advantage, 28-year-old Murray – who suffered from a shoulder injury in Saturday’s match – won the first two sets and served nine aces of his own against the world number 25.
Karlovic, who at 35 is the oldest player at the championships, was able to pull one set back, causing tensions to rise. Mrs Murray, 27, was seen gasping and holding her head as her husband appeared to start to struggle.
But the Scotsman managed to keep his dream for a second Wimbledon title alive by taking the fourth set and winning 7:6, 6:4, 5:7, 6:4.
When she attends his next match, Mrs Murray might like to think carefully about her choice of outfit.
Yesterday she wore a £420 shirtdress by Beulah London – a favourite label of the Duchess of Cambridge – which unfortunately caught the wind as she took her seat, nearly causing an embarrassing Marilyn moment.
After the match, Murray, who was also watched by his mother Judy, said it had been ‘incredibly difficult and draining’.
He said: ‘It’s not as physically difficult because the points are fairly quick but mentally it’s quite tiring because you have to be quite focused on every single point and you just have to be ready when your chances come.’
He added: ‘It was a tactical match, it’s tough. I was fairly focused through- out the match and concentrated. I am happy I have got that match under my belt and managed to win it.’ The tennis star was briefly distracted during the conference as he noticed his brother Jamie had just beaten the Canadian Vasek Pospisil – who faces Murray in the quarter finals – in a doubles match. Murray said of his next opponent: ‘I have never played him on grass, he has had a good run here. He has played a lot of tennis here so maybe he is a bit fatigued – I will try to use that to my advantage. I feel pretty fresh.’
A man from Aberdeen will be hoping he is right after he placed a £50,000 bet with Ladbrokes on Murray to win the tournament at odds of 5-2.
Sport – Back Page
‘Difficult and draining’