LONDON: Marin Cilic of Croatia outlasted Sam Querrey of the United States 17-15 in the fifth set after five and a half hours of play on Saturday to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round for the first time since 2008.
It’s the second-longest singles match in tournament history, by time. The record is the 11 hours, 5 minutes for John Isner’s 70-68 fifth-set victory over Nicolas Mahut in 2010.
“A little tired, but it was a good match,” Querrey said. “It was a fun match. I had my chances, but (he) kind of came through at the end.”
The 16th-seeded Cilic won 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (3), 17-15. He got the pivotal break at 15-15 in the fifth when the 64th-ranked Querrey double-faulted, then put a forehand into the net.
Cilic then served it out, getting the last two points when Querrey sailed a forehand out at the end of a 30-stroke exchange, then put a backhand return long.
Had the match gone on much longer, it would have been suspended because of darkness and not resumed until Monday, as the middle Sunday is traditionally an off-day at Wimbledon.
“It was getting dark, so I think if we would have stayed another 10, 15 minutes, it definitely would went to Monday,” Cilic said. “I felt I had a lot of chances in that third, fourth, and fifth set always close, close to him and on his serves, but never really finding the one point that could really make a difference. So it was especially difficult in the end to always stay focused and concentrated to do what you need to do, especially when playing that long not to miss some easy balls on your serve.”
Murray beats the clock
Andy Murray had one eye on his opponent and one on the clock as his Wimbledon third round clash against Marcos Baghdatis turned into a tension-soaked race against time under Centre Court’s roof on Saturday.
The scoreboard at the end showed the number four seed had won 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-1, but it was the time in the top left corner that had most people transfixed.
Murray had to get the encounter wrapped up before the 11pm local time cut-off time for play under the roof lights, a deadline imposed by local authorities, or he would have been forced to come back on Monday to finish off the Cypriot.
A mid-match wobble in which he lost the second set followed by an extended delay as the giant mechanical roof was heaved into place ensured the seconds were ticking away as he eventually stamped his authority on the match in the fourth set when Baghdatis seemed to lose heart.
Murray did not even sit down when the players changed ends at 4-1, hurrying to the other end while glancing anxiously at the time. As it turned out, Murray wasted precious few seconds, racing through the final two games and firing down an ace to bring up match point.
“I think if the set had been tighter it would have been distracting,” Murray, who had seemed in trouble when going a break down in the third set, told a small group of reporters while having his post-match aches eased by a massage in the locker room.
“Even at 5-1, that match still could have gone on it was just lucky I finished it in a couple of minutes.”
The match itself will not earn a place in the Murray scrapbook for the quality of the tennis on show, especially in the first three sets when the Cypriot was frequently able to dictate from the back of the court.
The Briton was tumbling around the court, unable to stay on his feet and was even penalized for allowing balls to fall out of his pocket in mid rally.
After a nip and tuck third which Murray, with tape on his knee and a grimace on his face, closed out with a sizzling backhand pass after recovering from 4-2 behind, came an all-out onslaught in which the Scot blitzed past Baghdatis to finish the match on fast forward.
Murray will face Cilic in the last 16. (Agencies)