Andy Murray rallies past Marcos Baghdatis into the fourth round – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Great Britain’s only hope, Andy Murray, went one step closer to winning his dream Wimbledon title, as he defeated Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in four sets 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the third round at the All England Club on Saturday.
Murray took three hours and 13 minutes to win a close match, which finished at 11:02 PM.
The start of the match was stable, as both players won their serve in the first 10 games, levelling the score at 5-5. Finally, it was Murray who broke the deadlock, breaking the Cypriot contestant in the 11th game and
making the most of it to triumph 7-5.
The Brit hit the first blow in the second set, as he grabbed a break in the third game to move ahead 2-1 but Baghdatis responded immediately to even it out at 2-2. The Cypriot dropped only one of the following four and closed it
6-3.
Having the winning momentum on his side in the third set, Baghdatis drew the first blood, snatching a break in the fifth game and holding his subsequent serve to attain a 4-2 lead. However, Murray bounced back in style, as he broke
the Cypriot twice after that, claiming five of the next six games to win 7-5.
Murray never looked behind later on, as he captured the opening three games of the fourth set to race to a 3-0 lead. The Brit allowed Baghdatis to claim only one till the end, sealing it 6-1.
The roof was closed and the match continued under artificial lights after natural one had faded. On playing under the roof, Murray said, “I think the quality of tennis improved under the roof. I was under the impression I was stopping
at 11:00 regardless of what the score was. Even if it was in the middle of a game. But, yeah, [I’m] obviously glad that I managed to get the finish. And the atmosphere at the end was excellent.”
Murray will now lock horns with the 16th seed, Marin Cilic of Croatia, in the fourth round.
The Brit added, talking about his next opponent, “It will be important for me to try to get off to a good start in the match against him. If you are feeling a little bit tired and you go behind, it can be tough to come back.”
Murray and Cilic will be facing each other for the seventh time on the ATP World Tour. The Brit leads the Croatian 5-1 in the previous six meetings.
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