LONDON (AFP) –
Britain’s Andy Murray reacts after breaking serve in the third set during the match against Cyprus’s Marcos Baghdatis at Wimbledon on Saturday, June 30. Murray takes his Wimbledon campaign into the second week on Monday when he faces 23-year-old Croatian Marin Cilic on Court One – weather permitting.
Andy Murray takes his Wimbledon campaign into the second week on Monday when he faces 23-year-old Croatian Marin Cilic on Court One – weather permitting.
“It will be important for me to try to get off to a good start,” the Scot said.
“If you are feeling a little bit tired and you go behind, it can be tough to come back.”
Murray and Cilic are due to be the second match on Court One, after Russian star Maria Sharapova‘s encounter with Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
However, in the absence of a cover like on Centre Court, both matches run the risk of delay if the gloomy skies over southwest London on Monday morning produce rain.
The British number one enjoyed a well-earned day of rest on Sunday after battling his way past the dangerous Marcos Baghdatis late on Saturday, edging a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win in three hours and 13 minutes just ahead of the 11:00 p.m deadline imposed on matches for health and safety reasons.
It was the latest-ever finish at the All England Club.
And while the victory kept alive his hopes of finally winning a Grand Slam title at the age of 25, Murray said he was aware he had to find another gear if that dream is to be realised.
“I was very nervous, I knew it was going to be tough,” said Murray of the win over Baghdatis.
“I was just kind of hustling my way through the match and I am going to need to play better, if I want to go deep into the tournament.”
Marin Cilic plays a double-handed backhand shot during his third round men’s singles match against US player Sam Querrey at Wimbledon on Saturday. Cilic faces Andy Murray on Court One on Monday.
“I was really struggling. Even in the first couple of sets I was creating lots of chances but I was not feeling that comfortable on the court.”
There were concerns also over Murray’s fitness as he took several painful-looking tumbles in a Centre Court match that saw the sliding roof closed at the start of the third set.
Murray returned to the court after the break, while the roof was closed, with his knee strapped up, fuelling further concerns about his fitness.
“My knee was a little bit sore,” he told the BBC. “I took a tumble towards the end of the second set, I slipped and my foot went from underneath me and when I cooled down a little bit, when we had the break with the roof, it was a little bit stiff.
“I had the physio work on it and put some tape on it and it was ok.
“I was struggling quite a bit with my footing early on, I changed shoes as well during the break and that helped.”
Oddly Murray also had problems with his shorts, suffering a two-point penalty because the ball fell out of his pocket during play.
“It’s happened before but not like that, it happened like five times in all,” he said. “I’m blaming the shorts though, it wasn’t my fault.
“It was annoying and it lost me two points so I need to make sure I have no problems with that during the next few rounds.”
Cilic made it through to Monday’s fourth round match by defeating Sam Querrey 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-7 (7/2), 6-7 (7/3), 17-15 in what was the second longest match in Wimbledon history.
Murray leads their head-to-head rivalry 5-1, the only win for Cilic coming in the last 16 at the 2009 US Open. Murray got his own back the following year when he beat Cilic to reach his first Australian Open final.
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