next »

[boogers]

Andy Murray's tumultuous Roland Garros campaign continued with a pleasingly drama free 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Santiago Giraldo. The Scot advances to the last 16 for the fourth year in a row, where he will meet the winner of Gasquet v Haas.

After the theatrics of the last two days, where Murray was struck down with crippling back spasms prior to his second round match, player and fans alike will be delighted with an energetic performance against a potentially tricky opponent.

Giraldo and Murray met in Barcelona earlier this year, where Giraldo was brushed aside for the loss of only three games. The Comonbian put up a much better fight this time round but was ultimately outclassed in all aspects of the game.

For the first set and half Murray played with the freedom of a player unburdened by expectations. Pinpoint first serves and aggressive ground-strokes kept Giraldo penned to the back of the court. Murray, by contrast, was playing most of his tennis a good meter inside the baseline.

It wasn't until the serving for the second set that "passive" Murray returned. Some tentative ground strokes opened the door for Giraldo, but the Colombian failed to convert and Murray surged into a two set lead.

Giraldo probably sensed that the situation was hopeless, but much credit can be given the Colombian for the way he responded. Instead of surrendering, he red-lined his game, peppering the lines with a barrage of outrageous winners. Murray reverted to type, counter-punching his way out of trouble and waiting for Giraldo's spark to extinguish itself.

By 3-3 the Colombians resistance was spluttering and Murray applied the coup de grâce.

[johnkiernan35]

can I get a little credit here  .. I did say that Andy make the 2nd week  if you read my post somewhere in some thread  at the start of RG.    GOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Excellent win

[blueberryhill]

That's my kind of match
Andy looked damn good  

[Sabine]

HURRAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew he could do it...... it was an osm match to watch, Andy was in full form..hope he continues this form... and I know he will :D:D:D:D

[jdonald]

Andy performed superbly, no drama an excellent performance. Now he will have to wait to see who his next opponent is. At the moment it looks likeit could be Gasquet. he  should vome out with all guns firing. Good Lck |andy well plyed. Wish you could always play like that.

[Ruthie]

Who would have thunk it after Thursday.  Great to see Andy playing so well and calmly and some brilliant stats for the match.  Tbh I didn't think he'd make the 2nd week with this back problem and couldn't totally relax until it was over just in case it went again suddenly and we had a reverse of thursday.  You can see what a sunny optimist I am!
Great commentary from Courier who clearly respects Andy and appreciates his talent.  Said he'd love to have had Andy's bh, which he thinks the best in the game joint with Nole's.  Courier abit worried about how the back was looking at the v end but I've decided perhaps he's a bit of a worrier.  Perhaps not surprising if Andy was feeling something at the point it looked like it was just about over.  The relief on Andy's face when he won.....It's days like these when we can sit back and simply enjoy being a fan of such a wonderful player.

[Elena]

After the drama of Thursday I wasn't too sorry I had to miss this match. But what great news to come back to. Thanks for the report.

[mumbler]

Great match followed by good interview with Andy. Seemed very relaxed and made his point well re the whole 'drama queen' carry on.