2011 Australian Open: Andy Murray gets a walkover into second round while David Ferrer battles his way through
The 2010 Australian Open finalist, Andy Murray started an uncontested bid at the this year's first Grand Slam. Seeded fifth in the event, Murray played his opening clash
against Slovak Karol Beck.
Kicking off 2011 at the Hopman Cup in the first week of January, Murray enjoyed a perfect 3-0 win loss mark in all his rubbers however; he was unable to lead Great Britain
into the finals.
Murray returns to the Australian Open after achieving his career best last year when he made it to the finals before losing to world number two Roger Federer. Although Murray
finished in the top ten last year, a Grand Slam title has long eluded the Brit. Hoping for a maiden title win at this event, Murray got off to a fierce start.
Facing some resistance from the Slovak, Murray broke the service once to clinch a 6-3 victory in the first set. Dominating Beck, Murray dismissed the Slovak in only thirty
five minutes in the second set securing a breadstick win.
Coming into the third set, Murray led 3-0 before he had to be reduced to 4-2. It was at this point that Beck - taking a lead out of Marcos Daniel’s book - retired from the
match on account of a shoulder injury, probably to save himself from an embarrassing straight sets defeat. Daniel had earlier given world number one Rafael Nadal a walkover after retiring due to a knee injury.
Murray will next play Illya Marchenko in the second round of the event. The latter defeated Ruben Hidalgo in straight sets to move into the next round.
Joining Murray in the next round is world number seven David Ferrer. Ferrer enjoyed a successful entry into 2011 when he recaptured the Heineken Open title in Auckland.
Coming from a title win, Ferrer is in full form for a better run at the Australian Open. Having never won the title, Ferrer’s career best at the event came in 2008 when he made it to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. His
last year run ended in the second round when he was ousted by Marcos Baghdatis; the latter bounced back from being 0-2 down in the set score.
Opening his bid against Jarkko Nieminen, Ferrer became the only top ten seed to not move past the first round in straight sets.
Nieminen won the toss and opened serve. Ferrer fought hard and continued to keep the score tied for eight games. Breaking service in the ninth game and then winning the
next on his own, Ferrer secured a 6-4 victory. Following suit, Ferrer was able to go 2-0 in the set score winning the second set 6-3.
Ferrer only had to win one more set to win, but it surely wasn’t going to be the third. With quick reflexes and powerful serves, Nieminen rushed into the lead and clinched
the third set 6-1. Bouncing back in the fourth set, Ferrer was merciless in his assault on the Finn and eventually clinched a 6-2 victory to ensure his survival in the event.
Ferrer moves on to play Michael Russell later in the event. The latter defeated local wildcard entrant, Matthew Ebden in straight sets in the first round of the event.
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