In order for Andy Murray to go to the third round at Wimbledon for only the second time since 2017, he must win one more set when he returns to the court on Friday. At the time of the day’s suspension on Centre Court at 10:38 p.m. on Thursday, the Scot had a 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-4 advantage against Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No. 5 player in the world. The match was called off because it was very improbable that it would be finished by the curfew of 11 p.m.
Little could separate two-time winner Murray and Greek Tsitsipas as they battled head-to-head in a thrilling second-round match beneath the Centre Court roof in front of a boisterous crowd.
Throughout the two hours and 53 minutes that they were on the court, Tsitsipas used a damaging forehand, but Murray became stronger as the game went on. After dropping the first set, the former World No. 1 had excellent mobility and used more force in his groundstrokes in the second and third sets to win the day.
However, Murray had a brief moment of anxiety in the third set’s decisive game. The Scotsman, who was serving for the set, stumbled and grabbed his groyne but got back up to finish the set on the next point. The former World No. 1 will need to assess if the fall overnight had any lasting effects.
The ATP Head2Head series between Murray and Tsitsipas is now tied at 1-1, with the Greek winning their only prior major match at the US Open in 2021. After Serbian opponent Laslo Djere upset #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton, the winner will face Djere in the third round. 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) 6-3.
Murray is a two-time winner at Wimbledon with a 61-12 record. He won in 2013 and 2016. On Friday, when he makes a comeback, he’ll try to win his first Top 5 match of the year and his first match since June 2022, when he defeated Tsitsipas in Stuttgart on grass. The Scot also hopes to win 200 Grand Slam matches, making him only the sixth player to accomplish this feat in the Open Era (since 1968).
Tsitsipas is attempting to get to the third round at Wimbledon for the third time after battling past Dominic Thiem in the opening round in five sets. His fourth-round performance in 2018 was his finest performance to date.
Murray and Tsitsipas traded blows in a first set that was of the highest calibre, and neither player gave the other many opportunities to respond to serves. Murray only struck 11 wins in the set, while Tsitsipas hit 21, but the Greek player had superb mobility to stay in rallies.
Tsitsipas took control of the tie-break after Murray avoided a set chance on service at 5-6 with a forehand that strayed off the line. The No. 5 player in the world used deft movement to dominate Murray with his forehand and advance.
But in the second set, Murray answered. He only made two unforced mistakes in the set to tie it up as he struck his waterproof groundstrokes with depth and locked in during the tie-break. The Scot saluted the home crowd’s shout as he made his way back to his chair while raising his fist in the air.
The former World No. 1 then secured an early break in the third set and shown tenacity by fending off two break opportunities at 2-1 to keep his lead. From that point on, the Scot maintained a powerful serve to lead by two sets to one.
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