[穆瑞] Murray gets past trickly Santoro
By Caroline Cheese
BBC Sport at Wimbledon
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7469929.stm
Andy Murray safely negotiated his opening match at Wimbledon, but not
without some nervous moments against wily Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.
The British number one, seeded 12th, came through 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-5) to
set up a meeting with Xavier Malisse.
Santoro, 35, frequently bamboozled Murray with some devilish spin and
forged a 4-2 lead in the second set.
However, Murray kept his cool and his greater power eventually told as he
won in two hours and 11 minutes.
"To win in straight sets against someone with as much experience is a good
start," Murray told BBC Sport.
"It was a really fun match. He hit some awesome shots, especially at the
beginning, which got the atmosphere going.
"But once I settled down in the second set, I started to feel better about my
game."
Murray was playing his first match on Centre Court for two years after
missing last year's Championships through injury.
He showed few signs of nerves, rifling a backhand pass to earn his first
break point in the third game before eventually sealing a 2-1 lead with a
magnificent lob which completely deceived Santoro.
Murray dictates 'fun' first match
But the break did not prove decisive and Murray's habit of playing drop
shots at inopportune moments returned to haunt him as one such effort allowed
the Frenchman to level at 3-3.
Murray, though, remained admirably calm, rocking Santoro with some
brutal returns to break twice more to snatch the set.
However, Santoro appeared determined to put on a show as he made his
singles debut on Centre Court and the variety of shot on display from both
players made for a hugely entertaining encounter.
The Frenchman ran back and hammered a backhand past a startled Murray
to break immediately in the second set.
But once again Murray kept his patience, and the British supporters began
to warm to a professional performance, punctuated with flashes of brilliance.
Having broken back to make it 4-4, Murray saw two set points come and
go before another fabulous lob sealed a two-set lead.
Santoro dug deep to take the third set to a tiebreak but there was to be
no nail-biting epic for the capacity crowd.
I told Fabrice it was an honour to play against him. He has always
been one of my favourite players to watch
Andy Murray
A delicate cross-court volley to end a thrilling rally earned Murray a
4-3 lead and the Scot sealed victory on his third match point with a running
backhand pass.
At the end of the match Murray took the crowd's applause before pointing
to Santoro to ensure he got a good ovation.
"I told him it was an honour to play against him and he has always been one
of my favourite players to watch."
Murray now faces Malisse on Thursday and added: "I practised with him a lot
at Nick Bollettieri's and he is a very talented player. He is not playing as
well as he did when he reached the semi-finals here but he plays very well on
grass."
Santoro enjoyed the experience of his Centre Court debut despite the defeat.
"It was as good as I was thinking it would be," he said.
"The most special thing was the walk from the locker room to Centre Court. At
that point you are conscious of what had happened here and who walked in this
corridor in the last century.
"We played quite a good match even if it was straight sets. I played better
than in the last few days when practising. I think I had chances in the
second set but I didn't take them but when you are two sets down it is more
and more difficult."
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║ソフトバンク,軟體銀行四大天王 ║ＳＯＦＴＢＡＮＫ║ ﹦ ║
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║カズミ サイトウ,トシヤ スギウチ,ナギサ アラカキ,ツヨシ ワダ ║
║192cm,96kg 175cm,82kg 189cm,81kg 179cm,77kg ║
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