Andy Murray has placed himself in a strong position as he chases his biggest win of the last six years by establishing a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-4 lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, before their Wimbledon second round match was postponed at 10.40pm due to the 11pm curfew at the All England Club. Murray and Tsitsipas will return on Friday afternoon to complete their match with a place in the last 32 on the line.
While Murray waltzed to two grass-court challenger titles earlier this summer, Tsitsipas arrived at Wimbledon in curious form. Despite reaching the final of the Australian Open, seven months into the season he still has not won a title. His form was even worse on grass, where he compiled a dire 1-3 win-loss record before Wimbledon with two first-round defeats.
But in Wednesday’s delayed first round match against Dominic Thiem, Tsitsipas was given hope he had turned a corner. After landing in the most interesting section of the men’s draw, Tsitsipas edged Thiem out in a spectacular five-set match, producing a flurry of brilliant volleys in crucial moments to survive.
Despite competing only twice before, Murray and Tsitsipas have developed a fierce rivalry. Their first meeting in the opening round of the 2021 US Open ended with Tsitsipas taking a prolonged tie-break before the fifth set. Murray accused Tsitsipas of cheating as the Greek edged out a win.
The events of that night would lead to the ATP tightening its toilet break rules and some bad blood between the pair. This week, though, both players stressed that they have resolved their issues.
With the tournament schedule ravaged by rain across the first three days, Murray entered the second round with a notable advantage. While he had spent minimal time on-court in his simple first-round win over Ryan Peniston, a British wildcard, on Tuesday afternoon, Tsitsipas did not close Thiem out in a fifth set tie-break until around 8pm on Wednesday evening. Murray had finished his training session for his match against Tsitsipas before Tsitsipas and Thiem had even resumed their match on Wednesday.
Murray and Tsitsipas entered Centre Court at 7.38pm on Thursday with the roof already erected with a late night anticipated. Since grass courts tend to amplify Tsitsipas’s weaknesses, particularly his return of serve and backhand, success for him was likely to rest on how well he could conceal them with his serve and forehand.
Tsitsipas began the match playing with extremely high intensity, serving brilliantly while relentlessly attacking the first balls after his serve. As the set endured, he became increasingly bullish on his forehand, eviscerating any ball that landed short and striking his favourite shot beautifully. In the latter stages of the set, despite making few mistakes, Murray barely held on to his serve, saving a set point at 5-6. By the tie-break, Tsitsipas was constantly inside the baseline and in control and his combination of spotless serving and forehands yielded the set.
But the eternal challenge of facing Murray on Wimbledon’s grass courts is maintaining that high level across five sets. Tsitsipas’s serve and forehand masterclass initially continued in the second set, with his vaporising winners and effortless switching from defence to attack, even as Murray tried to step inside the baseline and force him into awkward positions on the court.
As the set endured, though, Murray gradually forced his way on top. Tsitsipas missed a couple more first serves and forehands, while Murray found the Greek’s faulty backhand and eked errors from it. Towards the end of the set, Murray generated opportunities on Tsitsipas’s serve. This time it was the Scot who entered the tie-break in the ascendancy and thoroughly dominating as the pressure rose. Murray served excellently, grinding out errors, returning serve extremely well and flitting through to level the match.
Now Murray carried his momentum forward. After two hours without a break of serve, with both players taking extreme care of their service games, Tsitsipas finally blinked. He threw down a loose service game with missed first serves and frustrated forehands. Murray pounced, breaking to love in the opening game and then keeping hold of his serve until he served for the third set.
As Murray reached set point, however, potential disaster struck. On the penultimate point of the third set, leading 5-4, 40-15 on his serve, he slipped behind the baseline while defending, shrieking loudly as he appeared to hurt his groin area. After struggling to his feet, Murray was able to close out the set with an unreturned serve but he now faces the extra concern of ensuring he is in top shape to finish the job.
The pair will return on Friday as the second match on Centre Court following Carlos Alcaraz’s second round match against Alexandre Muller, with their contest scheduled for not before 3pm. The draw will open up for whoever triumphs, with Laslo Djere of Serbia awaiting in round three.. Earlier on Thursday, Djere, normally known as a clay court specialist, recovered from a set down to defeat Ben Shelton of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3