British number one Andy Murray says suggestions his partnership with coach Amelie Mauresmo ended because of his on-court behaviour are “untrue”.
Advertisement
In what was almost a shocking first-round upset, No. 2 Andy Murray roared back to secure a victory over unseeded Radek Stepanek in five sets at the French Open on Tuesday.
Murray was outplayed in the opening two sets before repairing some of the damage by the time bad light intervened on Monday night with him leading 4-2 in the fourth set. Murray forced a break point in the first game, which was saved by Stepanek rushing the net, something he did to excellent effect.
Murray said: “It is unbelievable what he is doing”.
“He’s always been extremely hard to play”, said Murray after a contest that lasted three hours 41 minutes. I also say stuff about myself as well. I will announce when I will want to stop.Later, Serena Williams faced 77th-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova to start the defense of her title.The weather should remain dry, good news for tournament organizers who had a backlog of matches because of rain during the first two days.
“He has always been extremely hard to play. I wasn’t able to dictate numerous points, I wasn’t in a great rhythm, and that’s credit to him and the way that he played”.
Murray, who has not lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since a defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2008 Australia Open, quickly dispatched Stepanek in the fourth with a 6-3 win before heading into the fifth and final set. It looked like he might need it when Stepanek created two break points in the opening game but this time Murray saved them despite grumbling at the umpire about the crowd and the overhead camera. The Czech threw everything at his opponent but deuce was as close as he got.
Murray needed to dig deep to beat Stepanek.
But Murray grimly preserved his serve and then broke Stepanek decisively before the veteran limply netted a volley in a tame ending to an enthralling match.
If he hoped things would be less complicated when the match resumed yesterday he was mistaken, as Stepanek came within two points of an unlikely upset.
Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, celebrates a winning point as he plays Britain’s Andy Murray during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Monday, May 23, 2016 in Paris.
In the end, though, Murray emerged to eke out a 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 win.
Nadal was the quicker by 10 minutes, neutralising the big serve of Australian Sam Groth to win 6-1 6-1 6-1 in an hour and 20 minutes.
Advertisement
These two have met six times in the past, and Murray has won every match.
