Smooth Sailing For Murray Against Karlovic
Smooth Sailing For Murray Against Karlovic
Scot into fourth round in straight sets
After battling through his first two rounds in five sets, Andy Murray enjoyed a much more straightforward victory in the third round at Roland Garros on Friday, defeating Ivo Karlovic 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(3).
The Scot was two points from defeat as he rallied from a two-set deficit against Radek Stepanek in the first round and overcame an inspired performance by French wild card Mathias Bourgue to prevail in five sets on Wednesday.
Murray has enjoyed great success against 6’11’’ Karlovic in the past and Friday was no different as he toppled the Croatian in one hour and 56 minutes to improve to a 7-0 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.
The Scot surged through the first two sets, taking advantage of the 37-year-old Karlovic having been extended to 12-10 in a fifth set in his second-round win over Jordan Thompson. Murray was thwarted on two break points in the fifth game of the third set, but went on to dominate the ensuing tie-break, sealing victory on his first match point as Karlovic returned serve wide.
“Especially at the end, it was very close in the third set,” said Murray in his on-court interview. “I got off to a quick start [in the match] and against someone like Ivo, that’s important. He fought right to the end and made it very tough. I’m obviously glad to win the tie-break and get off after a fairly quick match.
“The return has normally been the strongest part of my game, but even still, against him, it’s not always up to you. When he serves well, there’s not much you can do. I just try to stay patient and take care of my own service games.”
The 29-year-old Murray came into Roland Garros in red hot form, winning his third ATP World Tour clay-court title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Rome final. The Dunblane native has been a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in three of the past five years, losing out to Djokovic in a five-set thriller last year.
As he continues his quest for a third Grand Slam title, adding to victories at the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon, Murray goes on to face John Isner for a place in the quarter-finals.