Andy Murray v Feliciano Lpez - live! | Evan Fanning
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Second set: Murray 6-3, 1-2 Lopez* Lopez holds serve but he nearly blew it with a double-fault at 40-30. Murray struggles when Lopez gets to the net but that is a relatively rare occurrence. Jack Nicklaus is here but I'm giving that to Jack Nicholson without even an audition. "Why not jazz the film up a bit?" asks Stuart Goldacre. "Have Andy playing Judy, Judy as Andy with Marion Bartoli madly swinging her racket at nothing in particular as Feliciano? Jamie can be on the phone from somewhere afar." Mmmm. "Surely Pippa Middleton could play the girl from the famous upskirt tennis poster?" asks Michael Angus. These ideas are getting worse. If they don't improve I'm giving all the roles to Eddie Murphy who'll play them in fat suits of various sizes.
Second set: Murray* 6-3, 1-1 Lopez A near-perfect service game to Murray. Greg Norman is here too but there's only one man for that job ... Crocoodile Dundee himself. Gary Naylor has some ideas: "That posh one off Harry Potter (well one of the posh ones, as they're all posh aren't they?) could play Andy Murray's girlfriend. Klaus Kinski, unfortunately a bit too dead to make the casting call these days, could reprise his Nosferatu
role and play the baldy guy who's always in Murray's box and Hugh Grant could play Tim Henman, smiling on beatifically as Ewan McGregor takes the glory that rain breaks denied him a decade earlier."
Second set: Murray 6-3, 0-1 Lopez* A delightful opening point goes Lopez's way and he doesn't look back after that. "Why not just do the Highlander thing - Lamber! t as And y Murray and a young Dr No Sean Connery as Deliciano?" wonders Todd Stewart. "Yeah the accents are all over, but Lambert can be moody and starey and Connery can, well shave his legs." Christopher lambert? We're talking multiplexes here. It's not 1982. "Pippa and Lewis," writes Neil McLean. "Dawn French and Lenny Henry ... Nice to see them working together, after the marriage thing."
Andy Murray wins the first set 6-3 ... and it's looking good for the Scot so far. I wouldn't say he's streets ahead of Lopez but he is dominant and has settled into his natural game while affording his opponent very few chances. We would have said the same at this stage of Federer's game, mind.
First set: Murray 5-3 Lopez* The Spaniard holds serve but Murray is really dominating now and now allowing Lopez to play the game he want to play. He works himself into a position where he has two break points but Lopez is resilient and fights back to deuce. Murray again gets set-point but once more Lopez fights back and his serve is good and he wins the next two points to take the game. "Meryl Streep as Judy Murray, and Antonio Banderas as her hot Spanish lover?" writes Paul Ilechko. That's good but are we really going to draw in the young crowd in an overcrowded market with that cast? At the risk of this getting totally out of hand Pippa Middleton and Lewis Hamilton are here too so they'll need casting.
First set: Murray* 5-2 Lopez Murray holds serve comfortably which allows us to put on our casting agent hats once more. "Less Deliciano, more Christopher Lambert in Greystoke mode surely?" writes Yvonne Fletcher. Now we're getting somewhere. "I'm happy with Ewan MacGregor as Andy, and surely it's Maggie Smith as Judy Murray?" writes Integra. "I'm wondering about Javier Bardem as Deliciano, mainly because I just watched Biutiful last night and can't get him out of my head. He's probably a bit too ugly and a bit too hairy though. Maybe if Wilkinson Sword sponsored him! as well .." I think this man needs to play one of the Murray brothers.
First set: Murray 4-2 Lopez* Murray breaks Lopez and pumps his fist in celebration after a game that felt like it was going to go on forever. Murray three times had break point and sensed blood for the opening point when Lopez tried a very deft drop shot which turns out to be a very foolish drop shot as it hits the net. Lopez challenges a call mid-point and it was the right decision as the ball is seen to be well inside the baseline (although it's later confirmed that Lopez's serve on that point was out but was missed by both Murray and the umpire). Murray then challenges a call after a fantastic rally where Lopez was at the net but on the back foot, but somehow found return after return and eventually pushed Murray to the backline and his return was between the tramlines, as Hawkeye confirms. It doesn't put Murray off and he eventually takes the game after yet another attempt at a drop shot from Lopez hits the net.
First set: Murray* 3-2 Lopez A less impressive service game this time round from Murray, but he still manages to hold serve (losing a challenge on the way). "Were the genders different," writes Paul Szabo. "We might have a Mrs. Robinson/'Graduate' situation, eh? I can see Dustin Hoffman playing the Lopez part quite easily, long hair and all." Assuming the situation is at is is, who today would play the th! ree prot agonists in the picture above. Ewan McGregor as Andy Murray?
First set: Murray 2-2 Lopez* It's going with serve so far. Lopez is looking to get to the net at every opportunity and he shows how dangerous he is if his serve and volley game goes according to plan winning two successive points. He's less impressive from the backline, hitting the net when he really should have done better but is rescued by his serve as an ace wins the game. Tom Gardiner has an idea: "Don't you think if tennis was the kind of game where sledging went on, Lopez has an open goal two yards out? Imagine what Shane Warne would have made of the opportunity Judy Murray has presented 'Deliciano'."
First set: Murray* 2-1 Lopez Murray holds serve comfortably, losing just one point and winning the game with a lovely cross-court forehand which Lopez didn't even bother chasing. "Re the shaved legs," writes Gary Naylor, "cyclists do it not to minimise wind resistance, but to ensure that scrapes, burns and road rash wounds do not become infected and so heal more quickly. It probably helps the soigneurs in their massaging at the end of the day too. And it does improve looks, though Snr Lopez doesn't look like he needs much help in that department - unlike his opponent." Whatever the reason it gets Judy Murray going.
First set: Murray 1-1 Lopez* Lopez holds serve after a scrappy game. The Spaniard produced his first double-fault - his 18th of the tournament so far, which is relatively low. Lopez also has his first (unsuccessful) challenge of the game. Both make unforced errors, Lopez coming at game point, but a a poor Murray drop shot allows Lopez to take the advantage once again and this time Murray can't clear the net as he returned a booming serve.
First set: Murray* 1-0 Lopez Murray wins the game to love and that will settle whatever nerves he has. A lovely, gentle opening point that was so laid-back they could have had a conversation while playing ! it. Murr ay then steps it hitting two aces - the second his 50th of the tournament, half of what Lopez has hit - to take the game. Lopez, incidentally, has newly-shaved legs. Why does he do that?
We're about to start but there are very few people in Centre Court. They've all gone for refreshment following the epic Tsonga-Federer match. Andy Murray to serve ...
"The Americans are not even broadcasting his match," says Daniel John McGrath. "On their Telly. Which is a pretty ugly snub." That's the kind of stirring statement that needs to be stuck on Andy Murray's dressing room door. And Feliciano Lopez's door come to think of it.
Game-by-game exclusive (from the Johann Hari school of exclusives - i.e. they just said it on BBC) Feliciano Lopez expects Judy Murray to support her son in today's game. He didn't mention anything about dinner tonight. Kenny MacLeod has a dance for Andy. "The Sword Dance - and with sponsorship: The Wilkinson Sword Dance." You, sir, should be an agent.
Reasons for Andy Murray to be worried ... Feliciano Lpez has already hit 100 aces in this year's tournament, more than any of the remaining players. Murray's biggest area of weakness so far has been his serve return.
Just in case you haven't heard the gasps of disbelief I should tell you that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came from two sets down to beat Roger Federer and reach the last four. He then produced a truly spectacular version of his trademark dance. Andy Murray needs a trademark dance, but what should it be? Answers to the usual address.
Preamble There are some interesting betting markets on this game. Not so much on whether Andy Murray will defeat Feliciano Lpez and reach a third straight Wimbledon semi-final (that's a ridiculously short 1-10), but instead the focus is on Judy Murray, who has expressed her admiration for her son's opp! onent, t he man she calls 'Deliciano' Lpez.
You can get 20-1 on Judy wolf-whistling at Lpez at some stage (the bet of the day as far as I'm concerned), and you can get the same price on the Spaniard blowing Judy a kiss from the court. It's 30-1 that they'll be spotted having a romantic dinner somewhere in SW19 later tonight so if you work in a nearby restaurant and have just taken a booking for a table for two under the name J Murray I would pop round to your nearest bookies as soon as you can.
Given that we know that Judy Feliciano, has anyone bothered finding out if Feliciano Judy? If he does, we could pack the two of them off behind the Wimbledon bike shed and give Andy a bye into the next round. Would this be a satisfactory outcome for Andy? To exchange seeing his mother disappear into the sunset with a rival in exchange for a place in the semi? That's the big question of the day. That, and why is there no love for Mardy Fish?
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