Murray pulls off Oscar-winning performance to keep alive Wimbledon dreams

Friday, 2 July 2021 00:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Andy Murray

Oscar Otte

LONDON (Reuters): Andy Murray appeared down and out on Wednesday but he was back doing what he likes best at Wimbledon, picking himself up and dusting himself down as he roared to a 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-4 6-2 second-round win over little-known German qualifier Oscar Otte.

Before Wednesday, Murray had never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as number 151 Otte and he had never been beaten before the third round at the All England Club.

When the match had to be briefly halted at 2-2 in the fourth set as gathering gloom meant the Centre Court roof had to be closed so that the contest could continue under floodlights, it seemed as if Murray was on the verge of losing both of those personal milestones on day three of the championships.

But that stoppage allowed 118th-ranked Murray, playing on a wildcard this year as he works his way back to full fitness following hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019, to gather his thoughts and change his tactics as he won 10 of the next 14 games to book a third-round meeting with Canadian 10th seed Denis Shapovalov.