PARIS, June 1, 2017
World No. 1 Andy Murray continued his Roland Garros campaign with a second round clash against World No. 50 Martin Klizan of Slovkia on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Thursday.
Klizan ended a six-match losing streak at the Grand Slams when he defeated Frenchman Laurent Lokoli in the opening round on Tuesday, but the 29-year-old Briton fought hard to secure a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 victory in three hours and 34 minutes.
“I expected it to be very tough,” said Murray. “He goes for huge shots. He can hit forehand winners from anywhere on the court. Sometimes you think you’ve hit a good shot and he comes up with unbelievable power from very defensive positions and makes winners. It’s very tough.
“I tried to play a solid match and as the match went on I started to hit the ball a little bit deeper and was able to dictate more of the points. But when he’s controlling with his forehand it’s very difficult.”
Murray will face Juan Martin Del Potro on Saturday. The 30-year-old Argentine benefited from the retirement of Nicolas Almagro at 6-3, 3-6, 1-1. The Spaniard suffered an injury to his left knee.
“In my opinion Juan Martin plays better than what his ranking is,” said Murray. “He’s come back from injuries and he’s had a lot of tough draws this year. I think he’s played Novak a couple of times. He’s played a lot of top 10 players very early in the tournament. But he’s playing well this year and it will be a tough match.” Murray leads 6-3 in head-to-head records.
Huge amount of heart from @DelPotroJuan at @RolandGarros.❤️
🇪🇸 Nicolas Almagro (knee) forced to retire v. 🇦🇷 JM Del Potro.#RolandGarros2017 pic.twitter.com/DvzjYaatft— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) 1. Juni 2017
Murray will be joined by fellow Briton Kyle Edmund, who defeated Argentine Renzo Olivo 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. Edmund takes on Kevin Anderson from South Africa.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka eased past Alexandr Dolgopolov, winning 6-4, 7-6, 7-5. The 2015 French Open champion sent down 16 aces and broke serve four times to advance to the third round in Paris for the 10th time after two hours and 34 minutes.
“I’m really happy with my game today. My match in general I think was a strong game. He was playing well as well. I knew what to expect against him. I needed to be focused on myself. I think in general the level was really high, so I’m happy with everything,” Wawrinka was pleased afterwards.
The 32-year-old Swiss will next face Fabio Fognini, who emerged victorious from the all-Italian affair with Andreas Seppi, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
Berdych Falls
Karen Khachanov caused the upset of the day, knocking out the tournament’s number 13 Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic. The #NextGen ATP star from Russia fired 12 aces, winning 88 per cent of his first service points to secure a 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 victory in two hours and 13 minutes.
“It feels greats for me. It was a really good match from my side. I did everything what we planned with my team and with my coach (Galo Blanco), so in these terms I think the result came to me,” Khachanov told afterwards.
“Everything will stay the same. I will focus on every match and to try to do my best, and then we’ll see where it’s going to bring me,” the 21-year-old Moscow native said, who is competing in his first French Open main draw.
Next up for Khachanov will be John Isner from the United States.
