Filed under: Tennis, Wimbledon
British No. 1 Andy Murray ensured he will be involved in week two of Wimbledon as he survived a second-set wobble to beat Ivan Ljubicic in four sets.The fourth seed recorded a 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-6 (4) victory over the unseeded Croatian under the Centre Court roof to set up a date with French 17th seed Richard Gasquet.
Murray is now the only remaining Brit involved in singles competition following defeats for Elena Baltacha and Laura Robson on Friday and, although he endured a few nervy moments against the 33-year-old veteran, his participation at SW19 rarely looked under serious threat.
The Scot successfully defended a break point against him in game three but was unable to convert any of the four break points he created in game six as the Croatian kept his cool to hold.
COMPETITION: Win a HEAD Tennis Racquet Signed By Andy Murray
It looked set to be a pivotal moment in the set when Ljubicic broke to love in the following game - achieving the break when Murray netted.
Yet Ljubicic's good work was undone when he immediately handed Murray the break back with a double fault and the Scot broke again two games later, ening a marathon rally with a vicious forehand, to take the first set.
By now, the momentum was with the Scot and he reeled off six of the next seven games to move 2-1 ahead and within one set of victory.
Both players spurned break opportunities early in the fourth but it was the world No. 4 who gained first blood in game five when Ljubicic could only find the net in response to a fine Murray pass.
Victory was in sight when he served for the match only for the 24-year-old to fluff his lines as Ljubicic broke back to force a tie-breaker but two successive mini-breaks in points eight and nine handed the Scot three match points, the second of which he converted with a clinical volley.
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