PARIS, June 3, 2017
Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro faced off in Saturday’s third round match on Court Philippe Chatrier in a rematch of last summer’s Olympic Tennis Event final in Rio. Murray triumphed on that occasion, and also did at Roland Garros this time.
The World No. 1 hit 44 winners and broke serve six time to secure a 7-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory in two hours and 53 minutes.
“I expected a very tough match. The first set was very important for the rest of the match, whoever won it had big momentum. I thought I played some good tennis towards the end,” Murray told.
“He was playing much better than me in the first set, but we both had chances. The second set was the same but thankfully I managed to create a few more of the opportunities. Both of those sets could have gone either way.
“I am starting to feel better. I was really looking forward to the French Open. I struggled the last six or seven weeks but this is one of the more important tournaments of the year and I have great memories from last year. Each day I am feeling a bit better and hopefully I can keep it going.”
Murray awaits the winner of the encounter between Karen Khachanov of Russia and US-American John Isner. The #NextGen star clinched the first set in the tie-break 7-1.
Fernando Verdasco continued his great run in Paris, beating the tournament’s number 22 Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. The 33-year-old Spaniard will either face Kei Nishikori or Hyeon Chung in the fourth round. The eighth seed from Japan is leading 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 0-3.
Stan Wawrinka also advanced to the round of the last 16. The third seed from Switzerland eased past Fabio Fognini of Italy, winning 7-6, 6-0, 6-2 in one hour and 51 minutes. Wawrinka will next play the winner of the all-French-affair between Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet.
Seventh favourite Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Spaniard Feliciano López 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 to face Kevin Anderson next. The World No. 56 from South Africa overcame British youngster Kyle Edmund 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
“I played extremely well today. And I would say the conditions were a little bit slower today than these other days. When we started the court was quite heavy, and I felt that suited me much more than Feliciano,” Cilic told. “I was returning extremely well today. So that helped me to, I think, neutralize his big serve. And then off the ground I was playing really, really good.”
