Saturday, March 15, 2025

Murray hits form to blast Robredo off court

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LONDON: The sweet spot of Andy Murray’s racket was put through its paces as he signed of his first week at Wimbledon by stylishly dispatching Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-4 7-5 to move into the last 16 on Friday.

No prizes are awarded for hitting top form in the third round but Britain’s number two seed can be satisfied with the way he outplayed 29th ranked Robredo with his aggressive ball striking.

Murray broke for the first time in the third game of the first set against the number 32 seed and followed that with two more to close out the opener.

A rasping backhand pass delivered another break at the start of the second set and, apart from a brief moment of vulnerability as he was serving it out, the Scot never looked like relinquishing control.

The 31-year-old Robredo, who had never been past the third round in 12 appearances at Wimbledon, upped his aggression levels in the third set but found Murray’s defences watertight.

Murray, aiming to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, broke in the 11th game and wrapped up the win when Robredo netted a backhand on his second match point.

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer won an all-Spanish encounter against Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday to reach the third round at Wimbledon for a sixth consecutive year.

Ferrer advanced with a scrappy 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 win in a match originally scheduled for Thursday but pushed back because of rain. He will next face No. 26 Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Grigor Dimitrov staged a temporary sit-down protest to register his anger at court conditions on Friday before he lost a five-set Wimbledon thriller.

The Bulgarian 29th seed, watched by superstar girlfriend Maria Sharapova, went out 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 to Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja in a second round match suspended due to rain on Thursday.

When the tie resumed on Court Three after a two-hour delay caused by more rain, the 22-year-old Dimitrov, watched by the sunglasses-wearing Sharapova, slipped and fell in his service action at 8-9 to give up the third match point of the tie.

He then stomped off to the sidelines and sat in his courtside chair.

The umpire and tournament referee then decided to wait out the drizzle before play resumed 10 minutes later. But it didn’t change Dimitrov’s luck as Zemlja took victory on a sixth match point with a fine forehand passing shot. (Agencies)

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