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Murray avoids an early slip-up on clay
PARIS: As Andy Murray and Radek Stepanek met at the net to shake hands after Murray’s harrowing five-set victory, a weary Stepanek reached out to hug his opponent,
PARIS: As Andy Murray and Radek Stepanek met at the net to shake hands after Murray’s harrowing five-set victory, a weary Stepanek reached out to hug his opponent, a rare gesture for a first-round match.
For the 37-year-old Stepanek, this was a powerful moment, even in defeat. His match with Murray had stretched over two days and included encroaching darkness, chilly conditions, a couple of contentious moments and plenty of compelling tennis, mostly from Stepanek.
Murray put one arm around Stepanek, but stood upright and kept a safe distance from his opponent, a trick that was not so easy to do during the course of play.
“Incredible match,” Stepanek, the oldest player in the draw, said. “Tough battle. I can be proud of what a game I played pushing Andy into the corner after what he’s done on clay this year.”
For Murray, a strong contender to win the title because of his recent form on clay, the outcome was not so much a moment of celebration as relief. After the match was suspended because of darkness, play resumed Tuesday with Murray leading, 4-2, in the fourth set. The fifth-set shootout, as Murray called it, was tense throughout, but Murray finally broke serve in the 11th game to win, 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.
“It was obviously an extremely difficult match, very tricky and challenging,” Murray said. “Today was pretty stressful.”
Murray said the win was more important to him than had been assumed, perhaps an indication of his high expectations here. With Roger Federer not playing because of an undisclosed injury, and Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the same side of the draw, Murray is in a good position to win. He reached the final in Madrid this month and won the Italian Open a week before the French Open began.
“It could turn out to be one of the biggest wins of my career,” he said, adding, “It may not.”
“I had to go,” Stepanek said on Tuesday. “Trust me. I was hiding the sadness,” Stepanek said.
DJOKO, NADAL WIN
Novak Djokovic began his pursuit of the only major title missing from his collection with a no-nonsense 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun in the first round on Tuesday. “Well, it’s not the first time that I’m experiencing such anticipation and expectations,” the 11-times grand slam champion told reporters.
“It’s been five years in a row ... where I’m approaching this tournament as one of the favourites. Obviously people wonder if this is the year or not, and I wonder myself.”
There were glimpses of the vintage Rafael Nadal as the Spaniard started his quest for a record-breaking 10th French Open title in merciless fashion, demolishing Australian Sam Groth 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday.
