Murray showing championship form
LONDON -- They say cats are arguably the most agile creature out there. They can claw their way out of nearly any jam and escape even the most daunting foe with rapid reaction and iron will.
Sounds an awful lot like Andy Murray, doesn't it?
Case in point: At 1-1 in the third-set tiebreaker, Murray was scrambling side to side, seemingly out of the point. Impossibly, he scooped up a low-hanging ball off the baseline and flicked it crosscourt for a clean winner. And then at 1-2 in the 'breaker, an off-balance Murray short-hopped a ball off the baseline, did a circus-like backward 360 spin, sent the ball back deep into his opponent's court, rushed the net and stuck a clean high backhand volley into the open court. And then at 3-4, Murray returned a 115 mph serve into his body, was then pulled off the court yet somehow lunged and smacked another crosscourt screamer.
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This is what professional tennis players do, but Murray just happens to do it a little better than most as he showed in a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over Kevin Anderson to send the defending champ into the quarterfinals.
If you're wondering about Murray's form, we can tell you this: He's played four matches and hasn't lost a set. Oh, and unlike many of his brethren, Murray has deftly dodged all the rain the past few days, which will ensure him a day off in between matches the rest of the way.
The match, which was stopped for 27 minutes in the second set to close the roof, lasted 2 hours, 32 minutes, though it felt quite a bit short than that. Anderson is a tower 6-foot-8 and serves cannons as consistently as anyone on tour. He ended points quickly with a devastating serve and forehand. Under the 80-million pound dome, Anderson began to find his range. His serves began to penetrate a little more and Murray became visibly more tentative.
'Well, obviously everything was going my way when we stopped, and then, yeah, it's different conditions,' Murray said. 'I mean, most players will tell you that there's a big difference between playing indoors and outdoors. 'It changes the way the court plays.
'I created many chances, gave him a few opportunities. That's what you need to do on grass-court tennis. You don't always break. But if you keep putting them under enough pressure, you're going to get through in the end.'
But here's where it gets interesting for Murray. Next up is Grigor Dimitrov, who is turning a few heads right now. And no, ladies, we're not talking about his strikingly good looks. The Bulgarian, who on Monday finished off Leonardo Mayer in straight sets, has won a career-best nine straight matches, which includes a title at Queen's Club just before Wimbledon started.
Dimitrov, who has hooked up with the well-respected coach Roger Rasheed, has added serious muscle to his game, and it looks like he finally might live up to the expectations he's been burdened with since he stepped on to the tennis scene.
'He's a more mature player now, I think,' Murray said. 'He makes better decisions on the court than he used to. I mean, watching him play, his strokes and stuff, technically he hasn't made many changes to his game. But he's playing higher-percentage tennis, making better decisions. That adds up to winning many more matches.
'So he can obviously hit a lot of different shots. He has a lot of variety in his game. Sometimes it takes time to know how to use that properly. He's starting to do that now.'
Wawrinka looking Oz good as he has in a while
The Stan Wawrinka reincarnation started well over a year ago. Life among the inner sanctum of the tennis world has become fruitful, so much so that we even hinted at the crumbling of the Big Four.
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Sacrilege stuff, we know, but how can you argue when the guy was busy winning tournaments in Monte Carlo and another little one in Melbourne, Australia?
Wawrinka had it all going on -- and then the French Open happened. Against Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Wawrinka was sent back to Switzerland after only four sets of play. All the aspirations and expectations gone before the first day had expired.
In tennis parlance we call this a reality check, which is why we weren't ready to fete him anytime too soon here in London.
But here were are again. With a swift 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over Denis Istomin on Monday, Wawrinka quietly finds himself in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2009.
That's the good news. The bad is because this match was scheduled to be played Saturday (rain, anyone?), the fifth-seeded Swiss would have to play five matches in seven days if he wants to replicate his Aussie Open title.
Certainly the congested schedule could be an issue moving forward. Though Wawrinka's coach, Magnus Norman, thinks it may be a little more than an issue.
'It's not really human, but we're not complaining,' he said. 'We know what we have to do and we'll just try to focus on one point at a time and one match at a time.'
Wawrinka next takes on Feliciano Lopez, who clubbed 34 aces against John Isner to reach the fourth round.
And if Wawrinka is lucky enough to escape that one ... Roger Federer could wait.
Cilic makes his return known
A year ago, Marin Cilic pulled out of Wimbledon with a knee injury. Or so we though.
Turns out he was suspended because he failed a drug test.
The rouse didn't fool anyone. The overwhelming consensus was that his withdrawal was part of a doping cover up, which was later confirmed when the ITF announced Cilic had voluntarily accepting a provisional suspension.
But that was then. These days, Cilic is busy clocking 33 aces and 59 winners in fourth-round matches at Wimbledon. It just so happens those were his exact stats in a 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-4 win against Jeremy Chardy on Monday.
Cilic, who has an ideal grass game, is now on to the quarterfinals here for the first time.
Long match, quick work
The total match time took 3 hours, 13 minutes. But when Kei Nishikori returned to the court after his rain-suspended match from Saturday, he needed only four games to finish Simone Bolleli 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
At one time, Nishikori was hailed as one of the next great up-and-comers, but injuries, including a bothersome back just prior to the French Open, have derailed a good part of his career. But before the start of the grass-court season, Nishikori declared he was healthy and ready to give the grass a go.
He reached the Halle semifinals before running into a certain 17-time Grand Slam winner, and now Nishikori is on to the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time ever.
With respect to Bolleli, Nishikori's next task might be slightly more daunting. That's because another major talent, Milos Raonic, awaits. The Canadian hasn't dropped a set and has had two days off.
As for Nishikori? He said he is mentally tired after his long wait to finish his third-rounder.
Sounds like we might know how this one is going to go.
Tennis editor
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