Murray battles past Blake
Eurosport - Wed, 12 Nov 00:51:00 2008
Andy Murray survived a real scare before overcoming James Blake 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(4) in the second round of the Paris Masters.
Murray breezed through the first set, but Blake found form in the second and both players traded blows throughout a tense third set which went Murray's way in a tie-break.
The Scot looked troubled by a hip problem but edged over the line against an opponent who showed some of his best form of the year.
Number four seed Murray looked in prime form early on, as he worked Blake around the court at will.
The Scot secured a break in game four, only to hand it back immediately in the following game. Murray, though, was by far the stronger in the first set and he worked Blake around with some deft drop shots and deep groundstrokes to take the opening set.
Blake has had a torrid year, but he found some form at the start of the second set and visibly grew in confidence.
With Murray seemingly concerned by the hip he was continually flexing, Blake found form with his groundstrokes and his footwork around the court improved as a consequence.
Hard though Murray tried, he was unable to find a way past the Blake serve and the American took the second set in a tie-break.
Blake seized control of the tie-break early on with a glorious forehand down the line, while Murray was not aided by a nasty tumble when attempting a volley.
The American grasped his chance and a fantastic inside-out forehand levelled the match at a set-all.
Both players showed their strength behind their own serves in the final set as there were no breaks, which took the contest to a tie-break.
Murray could have been forgiven for being wary having lost the second set tie-break, but he took the contest to Blake and secured the early mini-break.
Blake refused to lie down and breaks were traded, but Murray produced a glorious backhand pass to set up match point and Blake fired a forehand drive over the baseline to hand Murray the win at 1.45am local time.
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Comment 4 - 23 of 23
Take my advice on the next match, NADAL will bet beat by ROBREDO, I have a price of 4 to 1 and have put 200 quid of my MURRAY winnings on TOMMY ROBREDO TO WIN, watch this space!
william r...william r....william r!!!! So I have made my holiday money, picked up 1500 quid on MANDY WORRAY to get knocked out, I always put my money where my mouth is, your man is out!!!
3-1 u must mean 1-3 not to much money for holiday and thats if u win!
Its such a pity Roger was not well and had to basically forfit his match. I was hoping ROGER would give Andy a hiding second to none!! Roger will now have to wait a little longer!!
have to say that it is ridiculous to have a player on last thing at night and then schedule him for the afternoon the next day.this would be acceptable in a weather hit tournament but not one with no external problems.
I-Give-Up-wif-U-Lot, i hope you loose the money you awful LITTLE man.
I thought ANDY would battle once he played against a top twenty player and it showed, god help him in the next round, he will need more than just luck, he just does not have the tools to make it in the big league!! I have placed a bet that he will not win this tournament and I got 3/1 odds so I zapped 500 pounds on it and hope to pay for my summer holidays next year!
Give a little credit to Blake, he faced a higher ranked player who dropped down 22 aces. Blake could only produce four and yet the match went to the wire. If Blake could keep such form and consistency he will do great 2010.
Foeyp is only on here because there's nothing worth reading on the Loserpool page. Well done Murray, a great effort
this is an encouraging result for both Murray and Blake.
Keep chipping away Andy! Winning scrappy matches is better than losing them.
It really hurts some of you that he's ALREADY Britains best ever player and he's only been on the tour almost 3 years. Good thing is that he's still yound and constantly improving his game.
FoeyP: You've a cheak talking about anyone losing. Away back to your Loserpool articles you sad little muppet.
Not a bad thing at all to get a good test, Blake was playing well as he is quite capable of doing occasionally. Don't like him though, he's so arrogant, hooded eyes and i love me attitude.
@ajp: Foey just posts here to stir things up..he's really only here to get noticed.
foeyP go and crawl back under your stone, if you dont like the guy why click on a forum that is clearly about him?
Andy if you stop drinking special brew with your foul mouthed mum maybe you might win something
I am a big Andy supporter but he can't afford to let his opponents see that he is hurting - 'stoicism' is missing in his makeup. It may make him watchable but it also gives his opponent hope.
James Blake is a steady player, very consistant... and an excellent win for Murray.. especially as he's not fully fit...
and with RF out as well... could he go all the way.. ?
let's hope so!
Best I've seen James Blake play for a long time, hardly made any errors(apart from forced) in this match.
Paula, although i do respect your opinion...
Andy was having trouble with his hip in Valencia, a tournament he went on to win. Its clear that he has not had enough time to fully recover! Andy was flexing his hip through the first set, even when his tennis was just too good for anything Blake could throw at him.
In that second set tie break and through most of the third set, Andy looked to even have trouble moving across the court, mainly because of Blakes monster off forehand shot, but fought and fought until the very last point of the match. Hats off to both of them for dealing with the situation.
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