Murray Battles Back in Paris to Move Into Round Three
Andy Murray battled back yet again at the 2016 French Open to stave off elimination Wednesday, mounting a comeback against French wild card Mathias Bourgue, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, in three hours and 34 minutes. Bourgue, ranked 164th in the world, was playing in just the second Grand Slam of his career.
“Thanks to all the crowd for encouraging me the whole match,” Bourgue said. “It was really an emotional moment for me, and I will never forget it.”
Murray battled back Tuesday to defeat Radek Stepanek, and is set to face the 27th-seeded Ivo Karlovic, a 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 12-10 winner over Australian Jordan Thompson. With the win, the 37-year-old Karlovic became the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam third round since Jimmy Connors did so at the 1991 U.S. Open at the age of 39.
“He played very good,” said Murray of Bourgue. “When he was dictating the points with his forehand he was very good, moving the ball around well. And he had good touch, a lot of good drop shots.”
Also on Wednesday, it was hometown favorite Richard Gasquet advancing as well, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-3 over American wild card Bjorn Fratangelo.
Fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori moved into the third round as well, defeating Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Nishikori advances to meet Fernando Verdasco, a winner Wednesday over Ivan Dodig, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. Verdasco holds a 2-1 lead head-to-head over Nishikori, and has a 25-12 record at the French Open, reaching the fourth round five times at Roland Garros.
