Tennis: Murray in a hurry to reach third round

Published on Friday 26 June 2009 10:01

MAYBE he'd forgotten to record Eastenders or perhaps he was planning a romantic late evening stroll with girlfriend Kim, but Andy Murray was a man in a hurry last night.

Roger Federer had laid down his marker with a ruthless display that reminded his legion of fans just why he's dominated here for so long.

The five-time winner is fluent in four languages but Murray responded in the only real way a great champion will ever understand – in kind.

The British No.1 and third seed produced an equally impressive and imposing 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 second-round victory over Latvia's Ernests Gulbis – achieved in just 88 minutes.

He simply out-thought and outfought his flatfooted opponent, a straight sets romp to victory that underlined why it's not only blind patriotism that makes him Federer's most likely rival at the All England Club. "I served great throughout the entire match and gave him no opportunities," said Murray.

"There weren't that many moments in the match when I was under pressure.

"My variety of shots was great, I served better and returned better – it was much improved from my first match and a very solid performance.

"Maybe there was some tension in the first round but I was much more relaxed.

"If I serve like that for the rest of the tournament, then I've got a very good chance of doing well."

The British No.1 had been lacklustre in his first-round win over Robbie Kendrick but the edges had been smoothed against Gulbis. He returned better, showed improved touch and intelligently mixed his shots.

Gublis had a plan to impose himself early on but Murray wasn't interested in getting drawn into that kind of match, besides the terms were his to dictate.

He made just five unforced errors, a statistic that meant there was only going to be one winner.

Murray, like a performance sports car moving through the gears, was soon cruising and a chastened Gulbis – with a reputation for upsets – was heading back to the locker room to reflect on his blink-and-you'll-miss-it centre court debut.

And if he hadn't served so many aces – the strength of his game – this match would have been over even sooner.

"Andy served unbelievably, didn't miss a ball and took all the chances I gave him," admitted a somewhat shell-shocked Gulbis.

"If he plays like that he's got to be a favourite for the tournament. He's got a very big chance."

Murray will now play 30th seed Viktor Troicki in the third round tomorrow while Stanislas Wawrinka, an Olympic doubles gold medallist with Federer last year, is a potential fourth-round opponent next Monday.

The third seed watched from a courtside balcony as Troicki overcame Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver in five close sets and fast-fading light.

What he saw should not unduly worry him, he won both their previous encounters without losing a set, most recently at the Miami Masters earlier this year when the Scot only dropped one set all week.

"Each round gets harder, so whatever happened in this match is forgotten now," he said.

"Troicki's got a big serve and he plays a lot from the baseline but I don't know too much about what he can do on grass."

Murray dealt with it all yesterday in a post-match press conference that almost lasted as long as his match

He commented on proposals of marriage, letters from the Queen and even his post-Wimbledon plans to take a driving test.

He dodged around talk of the state of British tennis and swerved a curveball relating to the All England Club's scheduling.

He talked about the fun forfeits lightening the mood in Team Murray, Twitter and even touched, albeit very briefly, on tennis.

Intriguingly, Murray then revealed that he didn't mind kissing the toes of his team but he didn't like buying them lunch.

The 22-year-old Scot's demeanour often does not help his dour reputation but, surrounded by his entourage, he becomes another person.

Some questioned his decision to dump coach Brad Gilbert and go for a "posse" approach, most notably former Wimbledon champions Michael Stich and Pat Cash.

But it works for Murray – and alongside coach Miles Maclagan, Matt Little, Jez Green and Andy Ireland, he has knitted together a team of many voices but one common purpose.

And, despite all the distractions, don't doubt Murray's desire to do the job.