Simon is not so simple for Andy Murray
ANDY MURRAY'S new coaching advisers did not sit and watch him play his first match at the Madrid Open.
Darren Cahill and Sven Groeneveld, adidas-sponsored coaches who oversee Andy Murray’s practice, would have been alarmed to see him struggle so much as he edged his way past Gilles Simon 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 yesterday. And if 6-0 in the third set looks like a thrashing, it was anything but – Simon pushed Murray to the end.
“I did OK and obviously the third set was good,” said Murray. “I came through a lot of long games. My ground strokes were a bit up and down but I thought I volleyed well when I came in.
“I wasn’t timing the ball that well from the back of the court and that’s something that, hopefully, after getting through a tough one today, I’ll do better in the next round.
“You need to be very patient against him. He likes it when you hit the ball hard and fast. Sometimes using the slice or higher balls or playing with a lot of variety, changing the pace of the ball, works well against him. But he’s always a tough player, I always have long rallies and tough matches with him.”
I did OK and obviously the third set was good
Simon, the world No20, had warned before the match that he knew exactly how to beat Murray and for the first eight games he matched the Scot in every department, snatching back Murray’s early break of serve and keeping him deep behind the baseline and out of harm’s way.
Both men wanted to step in and take charge of the point, both wanted to be aggressive, but that required relentless pressure and for much of the first set Murray could not keep that up in every point.
Murray missed his chance to take a 3-2 lead when four break points went begging and was left punching his racket strings in frustration as he could not find a way to put away Simon. In all he racked up 41 unforced errors, which did little for his chances and less for his mood.
But then, in the twinkling of an eye, two things happened at once: Murray’s first serve made a welcome appearance and Simon’s focus blurred.
A couple of errors brought Gallic shrugs, a lot of arm waving and a slightly haunted look from Simon’s side of the net while Murray spotted his chance and pressed. The end result was a break of serve and, after 58 minutes, Murray served out to take a one-set lead.
Unfortunately, the moment of superiority was all too brief. By the second set, Murray’s serve had gone walkabout again – his first serve average dropped to 46 per cent – and as Simon broke for a 5-3 lead, Murray’s hopes were looking a little shaky.
Simon, though, was having problems of his own. Throwing in a handful of unforced errors, he dropped his serve at the start of the third set. At last Murray was able to take charge, and going on to take a 4-0 lead he managed to hang on just long enough to reach the third round. There he will face Thomaz Bellucci, the world No36 from Brazil.
Like Murray, Bellucci is an adidas-sponsored player which means Murray will not be able to call on the services of Cahill, the adidas-supplied coach who is assisting the Scot while he looks for full-time help.
World No1 Rafael Nadal began the defence of his title with a 6-1, 6-3 rout of Marcos Baghdatis, a man he has made a habit of beating. Nadal, fresh from victories in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, barely had to break sweat to deal with Baghdatis and notch up his 35th consecutive win on clay.
Novak Djokovic extended his winning run to 28 as he beat Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4.
