The Scotsman is looking to win his 200th Grand Slam match.
On Friday, Andy Murray will make his return to the court at Wimbledon, needing to win just one more set in order to advance to the third round of the tournament for only the second time since 2017. When play was stopped for the day at 10:38 p.m. on Centre Court on Thursday, the Scot was leading World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-4 in the third set of their match. Because it seemed very doubtful that the contest would be finished before the curfew at 11 o’clock at night, the decision was taken to halt it.
Both Murray, a two-time winner, and Tsitsipas, a Greek player, fought blow for blow in a spectacular second-round match that took place beneath the Centre Court roof. The audience was rowdy, and it was difficult to tell who was the better player.
During the whole two hours and 53 minutes that they were on the court, Tsitsipas blasted his forehand with lethal strength, although Murray improved as the match progressed. After dropping the first set, the player who had been ranked number one in the world had excellent mobility and hit his groundstrokes with a greater degree of aggressiveness in the second and third sets, which allowed him to win the match and take the day.
However, during the penultimate game of the third set, Murray had some anxiety for a brief period of time. The Scotsman was serving for the set when he fell to the ground and gripped his groyne, but he got back up on his feet and finished the set off on the next point. The former number-one player in the world will need to investigate any unresolved issues that may have arisen as a result of the loss.
The score is 1-1 between Murray and Tsitsipas in their ATP Head2Head series, with the Greek victorious in their most recent major matchup, which took place at the US Open in 2021. The victor of this match will face Laslo Djere in the third round, as the Serbian beat Ben Shelton of the United States in four sets (3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), and 6-3).
At Wimbledon, Andy Murray has compiled a record of 61-12 and has won the tournament on two separate occasions, in 2013 and 2016. He is the defending champion. When he returns on Friday, he will work towards achieving his first victory in the Top 5 of the season and his first victory overall since beating Tsitsipas on grass in Stuttgart back in June 2022. In addition to this, the Scot is trying to become just the eighth man in the Open Era (which began in 1968) to win 200 matches in a Grand Slam tournament.
Tsitsipas, who battled his way through the first round against Dominic Thiem in five sets, is now attempting to get to the third round at Wimbledon for the third time. His greatest performance was in 2018, when he made it to the fourth round of the tournament.
In the opening set of a really good match, Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas exchanged blow for blow, with both players giving their opponents very few opportunities to break their serve. Tsitsipas was the more aggressive player of the two, scoring 21 wins in the set while Murray only managed 11, although Murray showed superb mobility to stay in the rallies.
Tsitsipas was able to take control of the tie-break when Murray saved a set point on service by hitting a forehand that was close to the line when the score was 5-6. The fifth-ranked player in the world used deft footwork to command play with his forehand, ultimately dominating Murray to advance.
In the second set, though, Murray was able to answer. He was able to even the score by hitting his waterproof groundstrokes with depth and locking in during the tie-break, making just two unforced mistakes in the set. The Scotsman smiled broadly as he made his way back to his seat and pumped his fist in the air as he acknowledged the cheers from the home supporters.
After that, the player who had previously held the position of World No. 1 secured an early break in the third set, and he showed his tenacity by fending off two break point opportunities on service when he was behind 2-1. After that point, the Scot’s serve was quite solid, which allowed him to take a two-sets-to-one lead in the match.
