World No. 1 Murray huffs and puffs to 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) third-round win over Martin Klizan; sets up blockbuster clash with Argentina’s Del Potro
Andy Murray, Martin Klizan
Britain’s Andy Murray returns against Slovakia’s Martin Klizan during the French Open second round at Paris yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
World No. 1 Andy Murray reached the French Open third round yesterday with a bruising 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) win over Martin Klizan of Slovakia.
Murray will face Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro for a place in the last 16.
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"I expected a tough match. Martin goes for his shots, he can hit winners with that forehand from anywhere on the court," said 2016 runner-up Murray. "I tried to play a solid match, I hit deeper the longer the match went on and tried to dictate the points."
Slovakia's Martin Klizan
Murray faced Del Potro in two epic encounters last year. He beat the Argentine in a marathon Olympic final before Del Potro, now 30 in the world, gained his revenge with a come-from-behind win in five sets in the Davis Cup semi-final.
"It will be very tough. Juan Martin is playing a lot better than his ranking," said Murray. "He’s come back from injury and had some tough draws this year. It should be a great atmosphere."
Klizan smashed 57 winners on Thursday but 64 unforced errors as his all-or-nothing game proved in vain.
Wawrinka in Round 4
Meanwhile, third seed and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka reached the French Open last 32 with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. Wawrinka will face either Fabio Fognini or Andreas Seppi, both from Italy, for a place in the fourth round.
Curtains for Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios’ French Open ended in the second round when he lost 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to big-serving Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Anderson, ranked at 56 in the world, made the most of the 18th-seeded Australian’s 42 unforced errors to progress to the third round where he will face Britain's Kyle Edmund.
Bopanna advances
India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski dished out a dominating show to make a positive start to their mixed doubles campaign yesterday.
The Indo-Canadian combo notched up a facile 6-0, 6-1 win over Australian pair of Jessica Moore and Matt Reid.
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