Murray Reaches Quarter-finals As Robredo Feels the Hurt
Andy Murray progressed to the quarter-finals in Indian Wells after Tommy Robredo was forced to pull out with a wrist injury
Make a statement. Send out a signal. Winning tennis matches is about more than backhands and big serves. In the end, Andy Murray's biggest statement was all too much for Tommy Robredo and the Spaniard quit at 6–2, 3–0 down to send the British No1 through to the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Murray said he was surprised to see Robredo retire, given the power that had been in his shots during the match. "I'd seen him before the match having ice on his wrist but he was hitting the ball well, serving big, and I didn't see him letting up on too many shots," Murray said. "But obviously it was affecting him."
The Scot was pleased with his movement on court but said there were aspects of his game that he was looking to polish. He said: "I'd like to hit the ball a little bit cleaner from the back and the start of all my matches have been a little bit passive while I've been trying to work my way into a rhythm – I went behind early against [Albert] Montanes and early again today against Robredo and I'll try and cut that out of my game."
Robredo was complaining of a problem with his right wrist but in fact the damage was done midway through the first set, and it was mental damage at that. After serves had been swapped, a dogfight developed for the sixth game, on Robredo's serve. The Spaniard aced his way out of 15–40 but when he reached advantage point for the third time, Murray sent the signal.
Racing back and forth and up and down to retrieve impossible balls with a series of sprints that would have tested Usain Bolt, the Scot still had enough wind and control to steady himself mid-court and chip a little backhand drop shot that Robredo could only plop into the net. It was an extraordinary effort and if Robredo had been hurting before, the pain suddenly became acute.
If you are quite tired, as the Spaniard must have been after winning back-to-back ATP titles on clay in Latin America before arriving here, and a little bit hurt, that sort of statement of intent from your opponent breaks the will of even the toughest competitor.
As something of a locker-room lawyer – although unlike Max Mirnyi and Mario Ancic, without the actual law degree – Robredo usually has plenty to say for himself. But having won seven titles in a senior career that started back in 2001, he knew enough to realise that this was not going to be his day.
As the set progressed, Murray continued to test him with returns from unlikely angles and eventually, at 3–5, Robredo capitulated with a double fault on set point. By the time he had dropped serve in the second game of the second set, the Spaniard was having difficulty finding the court as forehands flew yards wide and backhands found the net.
For the Scot, the day could not have been lovelier. Temperatures that were nudging 90F under clear desert skies seemed to have little effect on a man from colder climes and, given the prospect of playing Ivan Ljubicic or Igor Andreev to get to the semi-final for the second time in three years here, Murray's year seems to be getting better and better.
"I said if I can get through my first few matches, anything can happen," he said. "The conditions are tough, it's really hot out here and both the guys [Andreev and Ljubicic] play well around the nets in these conditions. Andreev has one of the biggest forehands on the tour, maybe the heaviest – he gives it so much spin – and Ljubicic has got a huge serve.
"So I think I've got a chance of winning the tournament but I'm still looking ahead to Miami."
Murray said he was surprised to see Robredo retire, given the power that had been in his shots during the match. "I'd seen him before the match having ice on his wrist but he was hitting the ball well, serving big, and I didn't see him letting up on too many shots," Murray said. "But obviously it was affecting him."
The Scot was pleased with his movement on court but said there were aspects of his game that he was looking to polish. He said: "I'd like to hit the ball a little bit cleaner from the back and the start of all my matches have been a little bit passive while I've been trying to work my way into a rhythm – I went behind early against [Albert] Montanes and early again today against Robredo and I'll try and cut that out of my game."
Robredo was complaining of a problem with his right wrist but in fact the damage was done midway through the first set, and it was mental damage at that. After serves had been swapped, a dogfight developed for the sixth game, on Robredo's serve. The Spaniard aced his way out of 15–40 but when he reached advantage point for the third time, Murray sent the signal.
Racing back and forth and up and down to retrieve impossible balls with a series of sprints that would have tested Usain Bolt, the Scot still had enough wind and control to steady himself mid-court and chip a little backhand drop shot that Robredo could only plop into the net. It was an extraordinary effort and if Robredo had been hurting before, the pain suddenly became acute.
If you are quite tired, as the Spaniard must have been after winning back-to-back ATP titles on clay in Latin America before arriving here, and a little bit hurt, that sort of statement of intent from your opponent breaks the will of even the toughest competitor.
As something of a locker-room lawyer – although unlike Max Mirnyi and Mario Ancic, without the actual law degree – Robredo usually has plenty to say for himself. But having won seven titles in a senior career that started back in 2001, he knew enough to realise that this was not going to be his day.
As the set progressed, Murray continued to test him with returns from unlikely angles and eventually, at 3–5, Robredo capitulated with a double fault on set point. By the time he had dropped serve in the second game of the second set, the Spaniard was having difficulty finding the court as forehands flew yards wide and backhands found the net.
For the Scot, the day could not have been lovelier. Temperatures that were nudging 90F under clear desert skies seemed to have little effect on a man from colder climes and, given the prospect of playing Ivan Ljubicic or Igor Andreev to get to the semi-final for the second time in three years here, Murray's year seems to be getting better and better.
"I said if I can get through my first few matches, anything can happen," he said. "The conditions are tough, it's really hot out here and both the guys [Andreev and Ljubicic] play well around the nets in these conditions. Andreev has one of the biggest forehands on the tour, maybe the heaviest – he gives it so much spin – and Ljubicic has got a huge serve.
"So I think I've got a chance of winning the tournament but I'm still looking ahead to Miami."
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