Murray marches on. File Pic[/caption]Internet Desk: The first-night jitters have been consigned to history; the annual quest is underway. Andy Murray is up and running in his chase for his first Australian Open title, through to the third round thanks to a 6-3 6-0 6-2 win over Andrey Rublev.
Five times the Scot has reached the final in Melbourne, and five times he has left town empty-handed. But this was the first time he had launched his campaign as the top seed and the man to beat, so when he opened his account on Monday, there were a few extra nerve endings fraying under the strain. That first match against Illya Marchenko was scrappy to put it kindly, but once it was done, the nerves had been settled and all was well with Murray’s world.
But as he took on Rublev on Wednesday night, Murray was back to his old self. He took a couple of games to size up the opposition, and then he got to work. A swift break for 4-2 was all that was needed to secure the first set, and a bit of muscle-flexing and rank-pulling took care of the second. Rublev looked as if he didn’t know what had hit him.
At the age of just 19 and with a ranking of No.152 in the world, the Russian is not used to mixing it with the big boys. Before the match, he kept saying that he did not know what to expect: the main show court, a night match, playing the world No.1. What would it be like?
But, in truth, he probably had a sneaking suspicion that that tall, Scottish bloke with the three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and a knighthood might give him a bit of a pasting. In boxing terms, the man from Moscow is a few lamingtons shy of welterweight, while Murray is a well-honed light-heavyweight. Poor old Rublev was punching well above his weight.
Why liken the contest to boxing? Because Murray is a great fan and follower of the noble art and Rublev’s father, Andrey Senior, was a boxer back home in the days of the USSR. In fact, little Andrey used to spar with the lads in his dad’s gym. He may be slight of frame, but he has steel running through his core.
But it was to his mum he turned in the end. She was a tennis coach and, as he said, he has had a racquet in his hand for as long as he can remember. She taught him about tennis, his dad taught him how to fight, and between the two of them, they created a promising talent for the future.
Alas for Rublev, Wednesday night at Rod Laver Arena was Murray’s present – and at the present, he is the best player on the planet, and there was no way Rublev was going to stop him reaching the next round. Still, the young man had impressed the world No.1.
“He hits a big ball and that’s I think, exciting to watch,” Murray said. “He goes for it. When he gets a little bit stronger, a little bit more experience, he’s going to keep shooting up the rankings, and I expect him to make a big breakthrough this year into the top 100. After that it’s down to your work ethic and your desire. And I’ve heard that he puts in hard work and he’s got a good coach, so I’m sure he’ll do very well.”
Sensibly taking a comfort break after the first set, Rublev returned to the court refreshed and ready to try again. The mind had been cleared, the reset button had been pushed. And then Murray broke him straight off the bat.
Trying desperately to stop Murray breaking again for a 3-0 lead, Rublev took his courage in both hands. He had the No.1 running from one corner of the court to the other – surely this point would go to Moscow. And then Murray put up a lob – as he is wont to do – and Rublev shanked it wildly wide of the court. He doubled over with his hands on his knees: he was now a set and two breaks down and the match was only 50 minutes old.
The only concern for the top seed was his right ankle. As the third set warmed up, Murray caught his toe on the court, tweaked that ankle and fell and fell backwards with a grimace. It was the first point of the third game and this could have been tricky. No matter: Murray asked for the trainer to come and have a look at the next change of ends, and then proceeded to break Rublev again.
“It’s just a little bit sore,” Murray said. “It’s not too serious, I just rolled it a little bit. I’ll make sure I get some ice on it tonight. But I was moving OK towards the end and that’s positive. Sometimes when you roll your ankle, it’s tough to put weight on it; I can put weight on it so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
There did not appear to be any lingering damage to the best right ankle in the world – as Murray explained to the trainer: “It’s not like really bad; it’s just throbbing” – and by the time the trainer returned at the next change of ends to make sure all was well (he was stood down as the ankle was behaving itself), the Scot was 4-1 to the good and cruising to his next appointment: a third round match-up with Sam Querrey.
“That will be a tough one,” Murray predicted. “He’s got a big game, goes for it again. He’s got a big serve and takes a lot of chances with his forehand so it’ll be a tricky one. He has a big win at Wimbledon against Novak (Djokovic), so I’ll need to be on my game and play some good tennis to get through.”
But now that he is well and truly into the tournament, Murray is most definitely on his game, chasing at full pelt in pursuit of that elusive Australian Open trophy.
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