TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015 – Andy Murray edged Grigor Dimitrov in a three-hour and 32-minute epic match with 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-5 to set up a eagerly-awaited quarter final against local teenage hero Nick Kyrgios. Diego Sampaolo
AO2015: Interviews, Results, Order of Play, Draws
Murray rallied from 0-3 down in the opening set to claw his way back into the match and reeled off six of the next seven games to clinch the first set with 6-4 The Dunblane star broke serve in the third game of the second set for 2-1 but he handed the lead back. He came close to taking a crucial break in the 11th game but he failed to convert on his set point at 6-5 when he double faulted on break point. In the second-set tie-break Dimitrov went up 4-2 with a backhand pass and drew level on sets by converting on his third set point.
Murray converted on his third break point in the eighth game of the third set to take the 5-3 lead before serving out for the third set.
Dimitrov saved tow break points early in the fourth set before breaking in the third game to take a 3-0 lead with a backhand pass and pulled away to a 5-2 lead but he faltered when he served out for the set in the 9th game. When the match looked to be decided in the fifth set, Murray clawed his way back into the match by clinching five consecutive games to seal a hard-fought win in four sets after three hours and 32 minutes. Dimitrov was broken back after three forehand errors as he was leading 5-3 before dropping his serve to love in the 11th game. The Bulgarian player broke the racquet in two after Murray hit a return winner.
Murray qualified for his 6th Australian Open quarter final in one of his favourite tournaments where he reached the final three times in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
“I thought I played well. I thought he started the match extremely well. He came out very aggressive, very explosive. It’s tough to keep that sort of level of intensity up. Once I got myself into the match, I felt like I was able to dictate a lot of the points. I thought tactically I played a good match. I was disappointed with the 6-5 game I played in the second set. Also in the tie-break I made a few bad decisions. The third set was good. In the fourth set I just fought hard at the end and he played a loose game when he served for the set. That was it. The crucial factor was when I was down 5-2 and went on to 7-5. I won quite a long game at 5-2 on my sere. If I win that game to love the momentum doesn’t really change. Sometimes if you can have sort of a long game, where maybe he feels like he had some opportunities to win the set there, then that game where he goes to serve it out becomes a little bit harder. He didn’t play a good game at 5-3 and, then after that, I barely made an error really. From really 5-3 I didn’t make any mistakes at all”
Murray will face Australian rising star Nick Kyrgios in the quarter final in front of the Australian “fanatics”
“It will obviously change the atmosphere. The crowd will be right behind him. Understandably so. They are probably going to watch him play a lot of matches like this over the next 10,15 years. That’s just something that I will have to deal with in my way. I have played a lot of matches. I have played in the French Open against French players where the crowd can be difficult. I have experienced it before, so hopefully I will deal with it well. I have watched a little bit of his matches. I watched the whole of his match last week in Sydney, I saw him a little bit at the IPTL. I played against him last year after Wimbledon. I watched some of his matches at Wimbledon as well. I enjoy watching him play. I think he is entertaining. I didn’t watch loads of today’s match nut he has done extremely well to turn that match around”
“I didn’t feel tired. I felt fresh. My back felt good. I wasn’t feeling stiff at all. I wasn’t feeling still at all. In these conditions over the last couple years I struggled a little bit, and I felt absolutely fine this evening. Whether or not it was the best match I played for a match that went three and a half hours. Physically I felt way better than the last year or so”
Like Kyrgios, Murray has been through the experience of playing the home Grand Slam at a young age.
“Maybe it’s a bit different when I was 19. I would say maybe he is more confident than I would have been at that age. I didn’t feel like I was going to win these events when I was that age but I read that he felt like he could win the Australian Open this year a few weeks ago. He obviously backs a lot. When you have the crowd behind you, it obviously helps. It makes the difference. If you are tired and a bit fatigued, the crowd can give you that extra lift and help as well. He has obviously handled everything very well so far”
Murray dropped just four games in his only previous match against the Aussie teenager last year in Toronto.
“I expect it to be a different match in a couple of days. Obviously it’s best-of-five-sets, It was a fairly empty stadium when we played in Toronto. I think Nick enjoys playing in front of a crowd. That will probably change things a bit. We played during the day. I assume that we will probably play the night match in a couple of days and that changes the conditions again. Obviously it was on a hard court, and there were some things that I did in that match which I believe will work in a couple of days’ time”, concluded Murray
Dimitrov was disappointed with his match at the press-conference. “Jinxed or not, when you play a match like that, you don’t actually think about anything. I am not going to hide my disappointment. I am pissed.I am happy that I competed at a good level and it takes a player like Andy to beat me like that. I am just disappointed because it’s not the result that I wanted. I could have done things better, some things better”.
The young Bulgarian was leading 5-2 deuce. He hit a forehand and the line judge called it wide but he does not think that it was the breaking point of the match.
“I don’t think this is a breaking point. Especially when it comes to points like that, you don’t think about it. You just want to focus for the next shot. I thought it was just a weird call because he actually played the ball and the ball went out. I don’t remember anymore. It’s in the past. This was what was expected, to come out there and play a match like that but it’s hard to say that the match gave me a kind of satisfaction. . It’s also good for me to see what I did good, what I can better next time. I think Andy played a really high level throughout the whole match. I am not going to hide that I could have done things better. I could have at certain moments, but that doesn’t justify the match”.
