Murray Surges Back To Reach Wimbledon Semi

It’s had unthinkable upsets, agonizing injuries and been more unpredictable than ever before, Wimbledon 2013 had certainly given us plenty to talk about. After eight days all it was missing was a five set epic on Centre Court, but we can always rely on Andy Murray to keep us sweating.

Relief for Murray,as recovers from two sets down

For the majority of 3 hours and 26 minutes Murray trailed the world number 54 Fernando Verdasco in a momentum shifting quarter final, it wasn’t until the last 5 minutes that the score board finally showed Murray ahead as he stole the match from the peril of defeat.

With fellow Scot Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the stands, Murray was forced to pull off a great escape that even the former Manchester United boss would have appreciated; he of all people knows the feeling best.

Murray’s fearless mind-set and sheer tenacity ensured he recovered from two sets down for the seventh time in his Grand Slam career, to rescue his fading Wimbledon dream.

He may not have made  it easy for many of us to watch but certainly kept us  intrigued in a energy draining battle which he finally prevailed 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 7-5 to set up a semi final with big serving Pole Jerzy Janowicz.

It was shock to see Verdasco play at the level he did, since his career high ranking of seven in the world back in 2009 the Spaniard had somewhat faded away from the top of the game. While his results this year have also been patchy, in many ways a run to the Wimbledon quarters had come out of the blue.

For two sets Murray had no answer to the Spaniard’s aggressive nature and blistering forehand, which earned him a deserved two set lead. A respectable achievement considering Murray hadn’t dropped a set all tournament.

But as Verdasco soon discovered when you’ve got Murray down at Wimbledon you just can’t let the Brit off the hook. Spurred on by the crowd, Murray hauled his way back to claim an emotional victory on centre court in arguably the match of the Championships so far.

"He served fantastically well. He's a very, very good player. He's been at the top of the game before and he's playing well again. Said Murray “I started to play more solid and really took my time when I had the chance."

Murray more than most knew that when he walked on court against Verdasco he was expected to make the semi-final for the fifth year running, anything less would seen a major let down that’s the price you have to pay when your ranked number two in the world.

Also take into account the early exits of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal which made Murray the overwhelming favourite to progress the final from his half of the draw, only he knows how much pressure that really put on him.

The first set was a cagey affair, as both players struggled to make an impact on their opponent’s service games. Even Murray who is renowned for being one of the most effective returners in the game found it difficult to adapt to the left handed serve possessed by Verdasco.

Verdasco’s aggressive approach resulted in some early errors and break points for Murray; however every time the Spainard was down he was able to come up with the goods finding his serve and sweltering forehand at the vital moments.

Serving second meant Murray was always playing catch up to his opponent, but at 5-4 an unforgiving slip-up proved to be costly for the British number one. A double fault from Murray on Verdasco’s first break point handed the Spainaid a set advantage, for the first time in the Championships Murray was in a spot of trouble.

The momentum looked to have steered back Murray’s way when he broke serve in the third game of the second set, however it abruptly switched back as Murray’s lapse in concentration allowed Verdasco to flip the set on its head breaking Murray twice before serving out for a two sets lead at 5-3 up.

For two sets it was like watching the Murray of old before his triumph at the Olympics and US Open. His passive play was being continuously exploited by Verdasco who was the clear aggressor in the match, at times blasting his higher ranked opponent off the boundaries of the court.

At two sets down any sort of mistake could have been fatal. Murray spent little time in clinching a break at the start of the third to begin his long road back. Verdasco’s grip on the match slowly slackened, as Murray began to step up the court and take the ball on while he ran away with the set.

However Verdasco wasn’t going to back down easily, the Spaniard re-established his rhythm on serve and even forced two break point serve in the sixth game of the fourth set, which Murray sternly denied him.

At 3-3 in the fourth set Murray finally made his move, his more aggressive play was now forcing Verdasco errors whose dreams of an upset were suddenly vanishing. Once the break was sealed there were no signs of Murray handing it back and that was enough to force a deciding set.

Verdasco played his part as Murray far from ran away with it, but with the crowd roaring behind him and his comeback almost complete it seemed inevitable that the home favourite would finally come through.

It took until 5-5 for Murray to claim the significant break which allowed him the serve for the match, where he held to love to survive his biggest test yet.  

Murray’s semi final opponent will come in the shape of 6 foot 8 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland who overcame his fellow countryman Lukasz Kubot 7-5 6-4 6-4. Despite the Pole’s height it is yet another match where Murray must fancy his chances against a man who had never reached a 4^th round of a Slam until this fortnight.

So after all the events and shocks of the last nine days maybe a match like this was just what the tournament was missing. From a British perspective all it needs now is a first male single champion for 77 years. Is that too much to ask? In four days time we’ll know the answer.