Well, Murray should be more than happy with that. What a great run he is on just now. After his best showing on the European clay-court swing – a run that took in titles in Munich and Madrid, and culminated with that five-set semi-final defeat against Djokovic in Paris – he has carried his good form on to the grass and will now attempt to join John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick as the only players to have won four titles at Queen’s in the open era. We’ll be back later with that match, in which Murray will face the giant South African Kevin Anderson at 2.25pm. What an encounter that promises to be. Goodbye for now.
Murray is talking to Andrew Castle at courtside. How will he deal with Kevin Anderson’s serve? Well, he says he enjoys playing against big servers and he’s looking forward to it. Let’s remember that Anderson has hit 96 aces this week. That’s a strange interpretation of enjoyment, Andy.
Murray wins the second set and the match, 6-3, 7-6!
Second set: Murray 7-6 (7-5) Troicki (sets 2-0) Troicki makes a storming start to the tie-break, belting a double-fisted backhand down the line for a winner before pressing Murray into a missed pass. But Murray gathers himself, reclaiming the mini-break after an error from Troicki, and he follows up with an ace, a successful venture into the net, and a blistering backhand winner. 4-2 Murray. Another twist follows, though, as the Scot makes an unsuccessful challenge before producing a wild forehand error. 4-4. A big serve from the Scot brings up 5-4, and when Troicki sends a groundstroke wide, it’s match point Murray. And what a match point it is, the best rally of the morning ending with Murray chasing down a drop shot before Troicki slams the ball into the bottom of the net. Murray is through to his fourth final at Queen’s!
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Second set: Murray 6-6* Troicki (sets 1-0) Serving to stay in the match, Troicki finds himself pulled hither and thither on the opening point, which Murray wins after the Serb is unable to control a drop shot while running at full pelt. Some aggressive play from Murray forces Troicki into a forehand error, and suddenly it’s 0-30 and the Serb is staring down the barrel. But a loose return from Murray and another successful venture into the forecourt from Troicki get the server back on terms, and he seals the game with the deftest of drop volleys. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie-break.
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Second set: Murray* 6-5 Troicki (sets 1-0) Another ruthlessly efficient service game from Murray, who meets one love game with another. Just what the Scot needed.
Second set: Murray 5-5 Troicki* (sets 1-0) What a beautiful game from Troicki. Four forays to the net, four points won, and some lovely touch and athleticism thrown in along the way. Murray will need to show comparable aggression if he wants to win this in straight sets.
Second set: Murray* 5-4 Troicki (sets 1-0) This time it’s Troicki’s turn to claim a 0-30 lead. He is helped along by a crunching backhand pass that draws enthusiastic applause from what has so far been a pretty sedate crowd. The Serb likes it, too, punching the air in delight. Careful now, Viktor. We don’t want you putting that shoulder out again. Murray steels himself, though, clawing his way back into the game and sealing it by punching away a high forehand volley. Troicki will have to serve to stay in the match.
Second set: Murray 4-4 Troicki* (sets 1-0) Some enterprising play from Murray gets him to 0-30, but Troicki snuffs out the danger with an ace and a carefully constructed rally that elicits a missed passi from the Scot. But Murray is not to be denied. A huge forehand brings up break point, at which stage Troicki plops a horrible forehand volley into the bottom of the net. Ouch. Murray is back on level terms.
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Second set: Murray*3-4 Troicki (sets 1-0) Murray responds with another love game on serve, but how costly will that sloppy service game at 2-2 prove for the Scot? Troicki’s serve may not be up there with the likes of Kevin Anderson, John Isner and Milos Raonic, but he’s no slouch.
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Second set: Murray 2-4 Troicki* (sets 1-0) If a measure of Troicki’s state of mind were needed, it comes at 15-0. With the Serb up at the net, Murray sends a dipping backhand at his opponent. It’s a tricky shot, but Troicki makes it look easy, getting down beautifully, applying sidespin and guiding it deep into Murray’s forehand corner for a winner. The Scot hits back with a couple of wonderful backhand winners, but Troicki seals the game with an ace. Break consolidated.
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Second set: Murray* 2-3 Troicki (sets 1-0) Hello, what’s this? A lapse of concentration from Murray? It is. And it quickly brings up three break points for Troicki. He squanders the first with a poorly executed drop shot and the second with an equally duff approach shot. Murray then pulls him wide on the forehand, and the Serb once again fails to get the ball in play. That’s 0-40 to deuce in the blink of an eye. Troicki knuckles down again, though, pressurising Murray into missing a passing shot. And when Murray nets a backhand on the next point, the Serb claims the break. An impressive effort from Troicki, that.
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Second set: Murray 2-2 Troicki* (sets 1-0) You have to applaud Troicki here. Up against an inspired opponent and surely harbouring uncertainty over that shoulder injury, he’s refusing to give in. A ruthlessly efficient display of serving yields a love game, and that’s the perfect riposte to Murray after the previous game.
Second set: Murray* 2-1 Troicki (sets 1-0) Perhaps sensing that Troicki is regaining a foothold in the match, Murray comes up with a quick, clinical game that ends with the Serb sending a mishit groundstroke into the doubles alley. Splendid play from the Scot.
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Second set: Murray 1-1 Troicki* (sets 1-0) Despite berating himself for an unforced error at 15-30, Murray is looking better and better. His movement, both laterally and going forward, is simply superb, and he’s consistently getting Troicki’s big serve back into play. But Troicki battles gamely to stay in touch, continuing with his newfound policy of going forward at every opportunity, and after several deuces some fine serving eventually yields his first game of the day.
Second set: Murray* 1-0 Troicki (sets 1-0) That really was an excellent start by Murray, who – bringing all his trademark variety to bear – probed Troicki’s willingness to run and chase down short balls. Frankly, the Serb didn’t look up for it. And who can blame him? Another fall on that troublesome shoulder and he would potentially miss Wimbledon. Still, Troicki soldiers on gamely, testing Murray with a fine drop shot of his own that forces the Scot to hurdle a courtside obstacle in a forlorn attempt at retrieval. A successful foray to the net gets Troicki to 30-30, at which point the top seed throws in an uncharacteristic double-fault. But Troicki can’t capitalise, mishitting a forehand after a brief baseline exchange, and some solid play from Murray gets him over the line.
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Murray wins the first set 6-3
First set: Murray 6-3 Troicki* (*denotes server) Drop shots are always a big feature of Murray’s game, but the Scot is really rubbing it in here. Not content with sending Troicki crashing to the grass last night, Murray twice hits winning drop shots in this game, one off either wing. The second brings up set point, at which stage Troicki double-faults. First set to Murray and Troicki really has it all to do now.
First set: Murray* 5-3 Troicki (*denotes server) This is a Rolls Royce of a start by Murray. He starts the game with a lovely display of touch at the net, guiding a half volley for a winner, and some excellent serving quickly puts paid to any thoughts his opponent might have harboured of an immediate break back.
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First set: Murray 4-3 Troicki* (*denotes server) The “vital seventh game”: it’s one of the biggest cliches in tennis. But does it still apply in the modern game? Andy Murray will hope so. Troicki saves the much discussed overnight break point with a big serve that the Scot can’t control. But Murray hits a winning drop shot at deuce – a reminder of the shot that made Troicki slip last night, perhaps? – and he wraps up the game with a wonderful topspin lob.
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The winner of this match will have the thunderbolt serving of Kevin Anderson to look forward to later this afternoon. The 6ft 8in South African slammed down 34 aces en route to a three-set victory over Gilles Simon of France yesterday afternoon. That should give Troicki’s shoulder a test should the Serb prevail here.
So what of Troicki’s injury? The theory is that his left shoulder popped out last night. TV replays suggest the Serb adjusted it himself. The good news is that Troicki is right-handed, and certainly he looks fine so far as they knock up. Whether there are any lingering effects, we’ll see. Any pain will be most noticeable on his ball toss and double-fisted backhand.
The players are making their way down from the locker room and will be on court in a few moments. In fact, they’ve just arrived. Like Gilles Simon yesterday, Troicki casts a worried look at the skies as he makes his way on to court. Murray doesn’t. He’s from Dunblane. They’ve seen it all before.
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You’ll know by now that these two have previous. And I’m not just talking about last night. After declining to take a dope test in April 2013, Troicki was banned for 18 months (later reduced to a year after the Serb appealed). Never backward in coming forward on drug-related issues, Murray branded the Serb “unprofessional”, a verdict he reaffirmed after his quarter-final win over Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller. Troicki, for his part, made light of Murray’s comments, saying he had known the Scot since they were kids and didn’t take his remarks badly. Still, you can bet the episode rankled, and it certainly adds another intriguing layer of subplot to this morning’s contest.
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Good morning, and welcome to the second instalment of Andy Murray’s attempt to see off Serbia’s Viktor Troicki and reach his fourth final at Queen’s Club. As you’ll recall, rain stopped play last night with the first set in the balance and Troicki on the turf. Serving at 3-3, the Serb fell awkwardly on his left shoulder after scrambling unsuccessfully to chase down a Murray drop shot. He had barely finished receiving treatment when the weather intervened, which means he’ll start this morning facing a break point. If Murray can begin as sharply as he did in Paris just over a fortnight ago, when his French Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic was held overnight by an approaching storm – coincidentally, the score then was also 3-3, albeit in the fourth set rather than the first – then he will certainly fancy his chances of converting that opportunity. Not noted as the quickest of starters, the Scot started like an express train that day at Roland Garros, claiming the fourth set with some scintillating play. More of that would do nicely from the Scot’s perspective. Of course, Murray was subsequently trounced by Djokovic in the final set of that encounter, so it’s not a foolproof strategy. But he’ll be keen to wrap things up quickly if he can, what with the final coming up this afternoon sometime after 2.25pm.
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