“It’s a very tough match”.
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With play starting earlier on the outside courts and the rain holding off, Williams was among nine American players winning first- or second-round matches.
“I always wanted to get back into tennis”.
” I don’t know what he thought of the match, if there were things he could have done differently”.
Cepelova, Slovakia’s No. 5 female player, had to win three matches in qualifying to make it into the main draw. It’s normal to have one or two matches where you’re not at your best and your opponent plays a great match.
Centre Court order of play Del Potro v Wawrinka, Serena Williams v Christina McHale and Federer v Evans.
No sooner of the opening of the roof it followed by the conclusion of the previous match the rain started and the covers game on.
As has become customary on the second Saturday here, the Royal Box was full of major sporting figures, including members of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team.
His victory comes as one of great perseverance for the world No.246, having previously retired from the professional circuit to take up a personal coaching role after being worn down by persistent knee injuries.
Murray beat Millman in 2013 at Brisbane and appears to be in a good place mentally and physically this year as he looks to regain the crown.
From 3-2 up in the second set, Murray won seven games on the trot as Lu struggled to find a way to keep pace with Murray’s potent groundstrokes.
Millman’s level that day – he took a set off Murray in a best-of-three-set encounter – impressed the Scot. “That’s natural. That’s what everyone does”.
“I know from experience of watching the boys, you have to get the clothing right, the footwear right because these are partly the tools of your trade so it has to be functional for what it is that you need to do”. Murray unfurled his full repertoire, hitting 23 winners, converting five break points and losing just 11 points on his own serve. At the second time of asking he made no mistake.
Neither player threatened in the first set, which eventually went to a tie-break which Raonic settled with some wonderful groundstrokes. The Scot served out for victory with an ace.
Millman is now ranked 67 and, although he has only played Murray once before, he is no stranger to taking on – and beating – British players. Highlights include all of Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 matches as well as tennis tournaments and some of the FA Cup and Capital One Cup games to name just few. What he’s done over the last 12, 18 months, I don’t think we’ll see for a long, long time.
“I have been a Liverpool fan since I was really young”, he explained.
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“But it wasn’t something that was going through my mind for more than 10, 15 seconds whilst I was sitting at a change of ends”.
