Murray in a hurry to beat rain and Cilic
Murray in a hurry to beat rain and Cilic
Andy Murray dodged rain showers to rush to complete a
7-5 6-2 6-3 win over Croatian Marin Cilic and reach the Wimbledon
quarter-finals on Tuesday
.
The fourth-seeded Briton had been leading by one set
and 3-1 40-0 in the second when rain ended Monday's play and was clearly
in no mood to hang around.
He got to 4-2 in the six minutes of play before the
covers went on once more and, after 51 minutes off court again, returned
with all guns blazing, holding to love and breaking 16th seed Cilic to
take the second set.
As sporadic showers continued to bother Court One,
Murray sprang eagerly from his chair at changeovers and was already
jogging into position to play when the umpire called time.
Only once more did the rain get serious enough for the
umpire to climb down from his perch but this time officials and the two
players, sheltering under umbrellas, waited it out and play resumed
after four minutes.
Murray, burdened with a nation's hopes that he might
become the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final since 1938,
raced to 4-1 up, hitting three aces in the fifth game.
Cilic, who had come through the second-longest match in
Wimbledon history when he beat American Sam Querrey in the previous
round, saved four breakpoints to hold in a long sixth game.
Murray, however, dropped only one more point in the
match, and finished off with a love game to book a last-eight place
against David Ferrer of Spain, who beat Argentine Juan Martin del Potro
6-3 6-2 6-3 on Centre Court.
Murray had no complaints about being exposed to the
elements on Court One, while Ferrer and Del Potro were protected under
the Centre Court roof.
"You would rather be on Centre but I don't deserve to
play every match on Centre," the Scot said in a courtside interview. "I
just wish the weather was a bit better. It is tough, but it is good
experience for me."
