Murray gets Wimbledon believing the hype

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 11:36

Andy Murray produced possibly his most comprehensive display on grass yet to beat Ernests Gulbis in straight sets 6-2 7-5 6-3 and reach the third round of Wimbledon.

The British No.1, now the only British singles player just four days into the tournament, was totally dominant on serve and made just five unforced errors in the entire match.

After making a slow start Murray saved two early break points against the Latvian, who had earlier made comments that the Scot had needed to resort to gamesmanship in order to beat him in their last meeting.

“If I serve like that for the rest of the tournament I’ll have a good chance”

It was to prove a false dawn for Gulbis as Murray rattled off five games in a row to race away with the set, serving out with a superb virtuoso display including an exceptional drop shot from the back court.

The Latvian responded in the second set, stepping up his own efforts on serve, but failed to make an impression on return against the No.3 seed.

The pair matched each other game for game until Murray pounced on the only break point of the set in game eleven and serving out with an ace.

By the third set Murray opened his shoulders and looked to be enjoying his tennis, much to the delight of the partizan Centre Court crowd. Gulbis, meanwhile, looked a shadow of the player that had made such an impression on tour last year.

The Latvian has a sound repertoire of shots, but looked clueless when positioning himself on the court, leaving gaping holes for Murray to pass him both at the net and baseline, and it was fitting that Murray should end the match with a ripping forehand cross-court pass on match point in just under 90 minutes.

Murray now faces No.30 seed Viktor Troicki in the third round after the Serb came through a five-set encounter against Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-7(5) 6-0 1-6 6-3 7-5.

Murray was rightly proud of his performance, particularly given the lingering doubts that followed his first-round four set victory over Robert Kendrick. “I served really great. I didn’t give him many opportunities at all,” he said.

“I served a lot better than the first match. I had a few nerves and tension in the first match but today I was a bit more relaxed and it was good.

“I was very happy with the way I played. If I serve like that for the rest of the tournament I’ll have a good chance.”

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