‘Just like old times’ Andy Murray fights his way past Oscar Otte into the third round at Wimbledon 2021
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Andy Murray
In a stunning late night atmosphere at the centre court, home favorite Andy Murray sent the crowd wild as he beat German qualifier Oscar Otte in a five-set marathon. The Brit, who looked down and out at one point came all guns blazing after the roof was closed and blasted past Otte in five sets 6-3,4-6,4-6,6-4,6-2.
Murray was pushed back into the match by the fired up crowd after he lost the third set and was just a set away from defeat. He started the match on a positive note, serving well and hitting the ball on merit. He took some calculated risks in the first set and broke Otte’s serve to clinch the set 6-3.
But the German qualifier, who pushed Alexander Zverev to five sets at French Open last month proved his mettle in the second set. Otte started serving well and was attacking Murray with tight baseline strokes. He got the decisive break and won the set 6-4.
Otte had all the momentum he needed and started the third set on a roll. He was hitting winners left, right and center, to which Murray had no answers. He broke the Brit’s serve again and ran away with the set 6-4. The close of the roof in the initial phase of the fourth set gave Murray a much needed break. He came out on the centre court with a different plan and was looking more energetic. With the crowd riding behind him, he broke Otte’s serve to take the set 6-4.
In the fifth set, Otte fell short to Murray’s passion. The Brit was showing emotions after almost every point and got the home crowd fired up. Despite giving his best, Otte succumbed to pressure and got broken in the first game. Murray consolidated the break till the very end and went on to break Otte once again to take the set 6-2.
‘What an atmosphere to play in at the end’: Andy Murray
In the on court interview, Murray was asked whether he enjoyed his match or not, to which he said, “I enjoyed the end. The middle part, not so much.”
“What an atmosphere to play in at the end. The whole crowd is amazing but there’s a few guys in there who got me fired up. I needed everyone’s help tonight and they did a great job. I played some great shots to finish, but yeah, a tough match.”
Murray also revealed his thought process during the break because of the closing of the roof. “I had to do something different and I started going for my shots more and started dictating more points. Because of the lack of matches and the important moments, I didn’t make the ight decisions a lot of times but I think I played the right away in the last couple of sets. The first set and a half was really good but there’s just bits in the middle that I’d like to change.”
Murray later said that he is tired but feels good overall to face Denis Shapovalov in the third round. “I’m obviously tired and I fell over a couple of times. Pretty slick courts. Considering everything, I feel alright. I feel good. Will get a rest day tomorrow and come out on Friday and play again in atmosphere like this and hopefully perform well,” Murray concluded.
Also read: Wimbledon 2021: Aryna Sabalenka survives Katie Boulter scare in the second round
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)