Five setters are where the cream nearly always rises to the top, that's why the Grand Slams sort the men from the boys.
Murray has been slightly below best but has always so far drawn two guys who have come out and played some cracking tennis and just hit a lot of winners past him. They haven't been able to keep it up for three straight sets though and Murray has prevailed. Winning ugly is still winning.
Here's hoping for a straight forward straight sets win in his third round match to give those legs a bit of a rest.
Murrays fitness is so good it can carry him through games like this. Novak is the same rarely do they lose to much lower ranked players.
I was at the Djokovic vs Murray qtr final at the 2014 US Open. That one was only a 4 set match, 2 of which were fairly straightforward for Djokovic as Murray was still on his way back to full fitness after surgery. That one still lasted best part of 30 minutes longer than today's match, at an average of 1 hour per set, so matches like that one today are fairly routine for the top guys. At least physically if not mentally.
If he can avoid any more extended games, it might actually even be good for Murray if it comes down to the usual war of attrition fitness battle vs Djokovic in the final. (IF...)
Murrays fitness is so good it can carry him through games like this. Novak is the same rarely do they lose to much lower ranked players.
You're right that they can win through early round matches in 5 sets because of their fitness but there will be a price to pay in the second week when they really need to dig deep against the serious contenders.
Not looking good for day 10 either. Lashing it down. Had considered going this year. How gutted must people be who have spent on flights, tickets and hotels to be freezing cold, wet and pissed off in Paris in summer.
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Murray has been slightly below best but has always so far drawn two guys who have come out and played some cracking tennis and just hit a lot of winners past him. They haven't been able to keep it up for three straight sets though and Murray has prevailed. Winning ugly is still winning.
Here's hoping for a straight forward straight sets win in his third round match to give those legs a bit of a rest.
If he can avoid any more extended games, it might actually even be good for Murray if it comes down to the usual war of attrition fitness battle vs Djokovic in the final. (IF...)
stuffsponge. Bye Rafa.http://www.itv.com/hub/itv4
The dour vs the miserable.
Could be a good match though.