Andy Murray v Viktor Troicki live! | Katy Murrells
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*Murray 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-2 Troicki*
Thwack. Troicki goes 40-15 ahead with a thunderous forehand down the line, but Murray gives back as good as he gets and unleashes a backhand winner to get to deuce. Troicki brings up advantage with some clever play, but then dumps a forehand into the net. It's then Murray's turn at advantage, but Troicki snuffs out the danger with a forehand winner. Deuce. Troicki then reels off the next two points to again deny Murray the break.
Murray 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-1 Troicki* (* denotes next server)
A bit of danger for Murray at 15-30 down, but he reels off the next three points - the third with a crunching forehand - to level up. And a plea from Qasa Alom. "In between your coverage and 5live extra, I've just about got this covered - would appreciate a "shout count" though of how many times - and how soon - Murray begins to hurl abuse at his mother, gf, friends, the ball boys, his primary school teacher etc etc." There has been one rant so far Qasa, but the only one in the firing line was Murray himself.
*Murray 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 0-1 Troicki (* denotes next server)
What a first point. A gruelling exchange finally ends with Troicki darting a backhand down the line, which Murray can only prod long. The second point is just as good, as Murray comes up with a backhand pass down the line. 15-all. Troicki delivers a delicate drop shot to nudge 30-15 ahead, but Murray puts away a backhand volley to level up at 30-all. There certainly doesn't seem to be any problem with his ankle at the moment. Troicki then slaps a sloppy overhead into the net to give Murray a break point at 30-40! , but Troicki holds his nerve to get it to deuce. The Serb then takes the game on his second advantage. A high-quality start from both players. "I'm hoping Troicki has some Sri Lankan heritage," declares Dan Hare. "It'll be over in a flash."
Oh and please don't hold back on the emails. This could be over very quickly. But it'll probably go 19-17 now I say that ...
And the players are out and warming up, again both wearing their near-identical Adidas clobber, though Troicki has opted for green shorts today just to help the commentators out a bit. Murray apparently was out hitting on another court around half an hour ago. An unusual move so close to the match, but probably a good idea to warm his dodgy ankle up.
Talking of Djokovic, his walkover against Fabio Fognini means there's just one quarter-final in the men's draw today, with Roger Federer up second on Phillipe Chatrier against the home favourite Gael Monfils. First on Chatrier it's the defending women's champion Francesca Schiavone against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while another former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will take on France's Marion Bartoli after the conclusion of Murray v Troicki.
My googling for random Troicki facts wasn't much of a success to be honest, apart from discovering he engages in a spot of part-time modelling. So if there are any Serbs reading, any bits of trivia you can offer up would be gratefully received.
On court, Troicki has had a pretty good time of it lately. Like Novak Djokovic, Serbia's Davis Cup victory has inspired him to produce the best tennis of his career and while he hasn't reached Djokovic's lofty heights, he's up to a personal high of 15 in the world rankings and he's playing for a place in his first grand slam quarter-final.
Omen time Murray came back from two sets to love down on the same court last year, when he beat Richard Gasquet in the first round. I was on game-by-game ! duty the n, if that's any kind of sign. Plus when Troicki goes the distance he's prone to get the jitters. This is the fifth time he's been caught when two sets to the good, and he's gone on to lose twice. Troicki talked a good game before the match, but I'm not sure he's got the bottle to finish Murray off.
Good afternoon and welcome to the conclusion of Andy Murray v Viktor Troicki. Team Murray were probably booking their Eurostar tickets back to London when he was two sets and a break down last night, but the world No4 somehow picked himself up off the canvas and had levelled up at two sets all 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 when they were hauled off for bad light at around 9.30pm local time.
So today's finale is essentially a one-set shoot-out for a quarter-final against the unseeded Argentinian, Juan Ignacio Chela. If Murray carries on where he left off, surely there's only going to be one winner (famous last words), as long as there's been no overnight reaction to his ankle injury. After starting rather gingerly yesterday, it seemed to hold up, but whether that was the adrenaline kicking in remains to be seen.
The players are due on Suzanne Lenglen at 1pm by the way, so I'm off to get a quick sandwich ...
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