By Britwatch Team
- Andy Murray defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-4 7-5 6-4
- Rain disrupted match ended up being finished under the roof
- Sets up a semi-final against Roger Federer
Andy Murray reached his sixth Wimbledon semi-final in seven years after an enthralling encounter with Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.
The pair had barely started before Murray established a swift break, only for the players to be taken off court for a brief delay. The roof remained open for the brief delay, and at the restart, the potential danger seemed to rest with the Pospisil who looked more likely to trouble Murray than the other way around.
It was quite a hard fought to the end of the first set, as Murray held, needing three set points to establish the lead.
With another rain delay in the second set, finally the roof was closed as more showers were believed to be imminent, and this time on the restart it was Murray looking the more threatening. Although not always a fan of playing under the roof, there is a lot to be said for the experience of playing in those conditions. The noise is understandably amplified, and that in turn seems to whip the crowd up even more, and with the Duke of Duchess of Cambridge in attendance, it was time for Murray to put on a show.
The joy of the match with Pospisil was the complete court coverage of the pair, with delicate touches at the net and dueling drop-shots. The rallies were at times a thing of beauty, although the tableau was marred with a someone harsh time violation warning at 5-5 30/30 in the second set against Pospisil, who was right on the point of serving.
It was enough to tip the balance Murray’s way as he converted the resulting break point, before serving for the match and a two set lead. From that point on, maybe the effect of two five-set matches on Pospisil on Monday was now beginning to take its toll as the chances to break were racking up for Murray, yet Pospisil was struggling to get any kind of look.
Perhaps the cruelest cut of all was yet another time violation to Pospisil, with the loss of his first serve. He reacted with two points, before Murray pipped him to the post to come out and serve the the match. With a little fire in his belly, Pospisl got his first break point this set on Murray’s serve, but the Brit rounded out the win on his second match point.
Predictably the time violations were the first thing that came to be discussed in Pospisil’s press conference.
“I think a lot of times these umpires, they seem to just want to be seen. I don’t know why they do it at a time like that. I went 30 seconds. How many times do you see the top guys go more than that and they don’t get any violation, especially when it’s important moments,” he said.
“He said, Yeah, it was right on 30 seconds. I was right about to serve the ball. If he would have waited one second longer, I would have served. I don’t agree with that time when he did it. Maybe the second one, yes, but not that, not at 5‑All, 30‑All. That was ridiculous, in my opinion.”
In fairness though, Pospisil did admit that by the third set he was feeling the effects of his mammoth day of play.
For Murray, it was the challenge of putting in a good performance under the roof, as he explained: “I haven’t always played that well under the roof in the past. But I did feel like I played some good stuff when the roof closed. It was quite tricky conditions when we went out there. At the beginning, it was pretty windy. It doesn’t normally swirl around in there. But the wind was swirling around a bit, so it was making it tough.
“When the roof closed, it actually made it a little bit easier today. It was very humid in there. Both of us were sweating a lot when the roof closed. It does change the conditions a lot. But I felt like I played quite well under it today.”
Of course playing against Federer means the challenge of the crowd – where usually you would expect them to get behind their man, Federer fans will be on form.
Murray said: “I hope I get good support on Friday. It’s been the case throughout the whole event and every year that I played here. Roger’s obviously extremely popular everywhere he goes.
“It might not be, you know, as partisan a crowd or atmosphere as some matches that I play here. But it will still be an excellent atmosphere, so I’ll still get, you know, a boost from the crowd, I’m sure.”
The semi-finals will take place on Friday.
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