Andy Murray will hope he is not extended quite as much as
he was the last time he played Fernando Verdasco when they meet in the fourth
round of the French Open.
Murray went into extra time in a fifth set for the first
time in his career in beating German Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6
12-10 at Roland Garros.
The pair had been held up by darkness at 7-7 on Saturday
as Murray battled cramp, and it was the Scot who came out on top, just, after
40 minutes on Sunday.
It was Murray's first five-set match since he fought back
from two sets down to defeat Spaniard Verdasco in the quarter-finals at
Wimbledon last year.
The win put Murray into the last 16 in Paris for the
fifth consecutive time - he missed the tournament last year through injury.
In a nod to his critics, the 27-year-old said: "Not
many people think I play particularly well on clay, so I would say that would
give him (Verdasco) an edge there. He's obviously had some good results on
clay.
"But he plays well on every surface. It will be a
tough match, for sure. He's incredibly talented, a very, very tough player. I
need to play a good match and do everything I can to be fresh."
Extremely tough
The Kohlschreiber match was Murray's first five-setter
since his back surgery last September and his chance of progressing further may
well depend on how well he recovers physically.
Murray produced one of his best performances on clay in
Rome two weeks ago in losing a tight quarter-final against Rafael Nadal and
believes he is learning all the time on the surface.
He said: "I've played well on clay the last few
weeks. This last match against Philipp could have been one of my best wins if I
managed to close out the fourth set, because he's a very, very tough player.
Obviously it ended up becoming an extremely tough match.
"But it's a very good win for me to beat a player
like him on this surface. Hopefully I can keep improving, keep learning.
"There were times when I was getting too far behind
the baseline and being a bit too passive. I just need to try and make sure I
get that balance right. And when I do, I play some good clay-court
tennis."
Verdasco also had to finish off a match on Sunday,
although his victory was a routine one over Richard Gasquet.
The 30-year-old, who is through to the last 16 for the
first time in four years, said: "Playing Murray is never easy. He has
wonderful tennis, and he won grand slams already, so I think he deserves all my
respect.
"I have nothing to lose. He is a favourite because
of his ranking. So I will try and play my best tennis."
Culled from Kickoffnigeria
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