Wimbledon News: Andy Murray through to the Fourth Round

The Croat Ivan Ljubicic, at 32 years and 3 months, was the veteran in the third round of the men’s singles at Wimbledon. And with his big serves and smart play, he managed to age the Scot supporters under the glare of the lights at the Center Court. However, his heroics were not enough to pull off the final dash as Britain’s only hope Andy Murray just about made it to the finishing line.

Andy Murray’s next opponent will be the 17th seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who prevailed earlier over Italy’s Simone Bolelli in one hour and 45 minutes dropping just nine games en route to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory. It will be a rematch of the five set classic fourth round between the two three years ago. Gasquet, two sets up and serving for the match, did look good to demolish the home favorite in straight sets. But Murray did manage to find his magical form and rallied to beat him in five to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Murray might

The Croat came into the match with three wins over the Scot and he was not going to throw the match away without putting up a brave fight. The first 10 minutes of the match witnessed speed tennis- aces and monstrous serves from both the players. As the first serves began deserting the Scot, the match headed towards being a nerve-wracking one. Brilliant serves and sizzling ground strokes flowed from the Croat’s racket in the first two sets. Murray saved a break point in game three and wasted three golden chances when he was 0-40 on Ljubicic’s serve. He saved off four break points and broke the Scot right back in the next game when he faltered and netted a forehand. The fourth seed was in the danger of losing the opening set but an untimely double fault leveled the match at 4-all. Murray took the next three games in his stride to race away with the opening set.

A lapse in concentration in the beginning of the second set and a marked decrease in the consistency of his serves cost Murray the second one. Murray upped the ante and blew the 33 ranked Croat off the court in the third set beginning with a break of serve in the very first game. Errors flew fast and furious from Ljubicic’s racket. And a brilliant backhand down the line winner brought another break point in the next Ljubicic service game. Though he avoided an ignominious bagel, yet Murray seemed poised to wrap it up easily in the fourth. Alas, more drama was to follow in the fourth.

The fourth set saw a very high level of tennis from both the players. While Murray saved a break point in the second game, a brilliant lob fetched him one of his own but he missed a make-able forehand.The fifth set followed a different path, though. A backhand pass and a forehand pass that led the Croat net a volley, delivered the break for Murray, much to the delight of the crowd. At 4-2 ahead, came the shot of the match- a through-the-legs shot,the same kind that he produced a fortnight ago at the Queens Club. He could not build on it, and Ljubicic went on to hold. At 5-4, the Scot was serving for the match. An amazing backhand winner off Murray’s first serve brought break points for the Croat and the Scot could not rescue himself this time. The match went to a tie-breaker which the Scot won with grit and elan to seal the set as well as the match 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-6(4) in just under three hours.