But Vallverdu’s presence did little to help Tomas Berdych against Murray and the Bulgarian knows how to beat Murray – and over five sets – so the simple fact is that Murray will have to play very well to win. I don’t think I made any mistakes there.
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The Scot pressed home his advantage in the third set and surged ahead 4-0 before putting Dimitrov out of his misery by converting match point on his third attempt. Since then, the 25-year-old has gone 10-3, racking up impressive wins over Ivo Karlovic, Feliciano Lopez, Stan Wawrinka, and Steve Johnson in the process.
I would have thought that the anticipation of a tough challenge from a Dimitrov coming back to somewhere closer to his best form now will sharpen Murray up a bit, but there isn’t that much between them on their past clashes.
“It’s always something special, that’s for sure”, said Wawrinka, who had his left ankle taped after twisting it during the match.
“Once I got up in the score, I wasn’t giving him any free points”, Murray said. I let him back into the match after I got a break early in the second.
“So, yeah, it’s all my fault what happened on the court out there”.
“I’ve not been sleeping great since I’ve been here. If Novak plays great tennis, it’s not easy to play well against him”, Murray said. “First of all, he’s a great guy”. We share a lot of the same things. We kind of want to just work right now. I don’t know why. There was a lot of different emotions going on in that match. I’m enjoying doing the ice baths again. Just simplicity, that’s the key right now. “Do your stuff, work, go out there, give 100 per cent each match”. But at the time of his press conference, the 22nd seed admitted to never having discussed this topic with his new coach.
The progress of Murray, Edmund and Konta to that stage marked the first time three British singles players have advanced that far at a Grand Slam since 1964.
“Obviously today I ran out of fuel I think physically and mentally”.
“But we still got to prepare. I’m looking forward to do a good match after tomorrow”. I’m excited to be in the second week. He has lost in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon six times; likewise on the clay of Roland Garros, where he feels more comfortable.
“I have played well against him in the past but he likes these conditions”, said Murray, who ruthlessly despatched Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16 on Monday night.
“I served one at 145 in San Jose but the next day they recalibrated the gun because it was completely wrong”. I’ll be ready for that. I just wanted to keep my foot on the gas, which I didn’t really do the other day. He’s been playing extremely good tennis.
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“And after that, everything changed for myself, and now I’m here”.
