Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Garden Tennis and Croquet Membership, London, Britain – July 6, 2023 Britain’s Andy Murray in motion throughout his second spherical match in opposition to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
LONDON–If guts and grit win grand slam titles simply hand the Wimbledon trophy to Andy Murray proper now.
In fact it doesn’t work like that although and the Scot should come again on Friday to earn a spot within the third spherical after an epic battle with Greek powerhouse Stefanos Tsitsipas was halted with the clock approaching 11pm native time on Thursday.
The scoreboard underneath the lights confirmed Murray main the hard-fought contest 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 6-4.
It had been an interesting match performed out in a heady Centre Courtroom environment with nothing to separate twice champion Murray and his flaxen-haired fifth-seeded opponent.
Whisper it quietly, however there have been instances over the previous 19 years that a lot of the Wimbledon crowd has not all the time discovered it straightforward to take to the passionate Scot.
In the present day, Murray is nothing wanting a Nationwide Treasure, having famously ended Britain’s 77-year watch for a house males’s singles champion in 2013, and the Centre Courtroom crowd roared their appreciation all through within the chill of London’s night.
Centre Courtroom rises for @andy_murray who leads two units to 1.
To be continued tomorrow…#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Zn5nkdXF3f
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2023
The youthful man by a dozen years, Tsitsipas has by no means obtained previous the fourth spherical in 5 earlier visits and regardless of his younger legs – and Murray’s metallic hip – it was the Scot who appeared extra comfy shifting across the slick floor.
There was so little or no to decide on between the 2 combatants within the opening set – simply two factors separated them, Murray successful 37 factors and Tsitsipas 39.
However the Greek received once they mattered because it got here to an almost-inevitable tiebreak.
One in all his 21 clear winners in that opening set got here to punch by way of Murray’s defenses for a 4-3 lead within the tiebreak.
Two factors later he held three set factors at 6-3, and transformed on his first by out-maneuvering the Scot to take a one-set lead after simply shy of an hour’s play.
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Garden Tennis and Croquet Membership, London, Britain – July 6, 2023 Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas throughout his second spherical match in opposition to Britain’s Andy Murray REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Time and time once more over time, although, Murray has proven he’s hewn from granite and he slugged toe-to-toe with the youthful man.
The clock ticked, the video games rolled over and as soon as once more the set entered a tiebreak and this time Murray was to not be denied, levelling the match with a roar and an air-punch and Centre Courtroom jumped to its toes.
The heady environment seeping into each cubic inch of the world hung within the air and when play resumed for a 3rd set Murray broke the mighty Greek serve for the primary time within the match to burst out of the gates into an early lead.
It was one he wouldn’t relinquish and at 10:38pm he fired a service that Tsitsipas might solely return lengthy.
Murray sat in his seat, checked out his workforce within the stands and waved his hand in a ‘name it’ gesture because the umpire introduced play can be suspended till Friday.
The break might hardly have come at a greater time for Murray who had simply been wrong-footed and yelped in ache as he slid to the bottom.
Tsitsipas stalked off courtroom whereas Murray collected his bag and the group roared their appreciation because the night-time conflict ended on a cliff-hanger.
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Supply: sports activities.inquirer.web