Murray Overcomes Millman At Wimbledon

Second seed and 2013 champion Andy Murray continued his quest for a second title at The Championships on Saturday when he defeated John Millman 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 21 minutes on Centre Court.

Murray, who has a 49-9 record at the All England Club, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final, will next face No. 15 seed Nick Kyrgios or No. 22 seed Feliciano Lopez in the Wimbledon fourth round.

“I think I’m playing well,” said Murray. “Some of the tennis I played at the end of the matches, in particular the last two matches, in the third sets has been very good. Today, I went through a tough sort of 15‑20‑minute period in that second set and came through it well. There were a lot of long rallies and tough games.”

Murray took a 3-0 lead against Millman in the first set, which saw both players exchange breaks mid-set. Murray was unable to convert a set point opportunity at 5-2, with Millman serving at Ad-out. Rain began to fall at the end of the first set at 3:49 p.m. local time, but the pair’s second meeting resumed at 4:26 p.m.

Millman was more competitive in the second set, but Murray was able to break to 30 for a 4-3 advantage. The Australian saved two set points in the ninth game, at a point when news spread of Sam Querrey’s victory over Djokovic on No. 1 Court. Serving for the set at 5-4, Murray lost the first three points and was subsequently broken.

Murray dug deep to break Millman in a 20-point game, converting his fifth break point chance, and then held to 30 for the 71-minute second set. “I thought the second set was pretty high quality stuff,” said Millman. “It was just very physical. I think he doesn’t let up. He’s always pressing you and always making you do just a little bit more.”

From 5-5 in the second set, Murray won six straight games and went on to maintain his record of never having lost to an Australian (18-0 lifetime). The World No. 2 is now 36-6 on the year.

“Centre Court is a special place for a tennis player at Wimbledon,” said Millman. “I left it all out there. Andy was too good. But I will remember it for a long time.”

Last month, Murray captured a record fifth Aegon Championships title. Seven of his 37 tour-level singles titles have come on grass courts. Victory on Centre Court moved him past his coach, Ivan Lendl, to ninth place in the Open Era match wins list at Wimbledon.

MOST WIMBLEDON MATCH WINS IN OPEN ERA

Kyrgios and Lopez are tied at one-set apiece on Saturday night as bad light stopped play at 9 p.m. local time. There will be play on the Middle Sunday at Wimbledon for only the fourth time, after 1991, 1997 and 2004. The tournament’s seventh day is traditionally a rest day.

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