There was still plenty of pressure on Murray as he went to the line with ball in hand to finish the job as his serve had proved unreliable throughout the match. His radar was on, however, and his arm flowed hard and true.
Ferrer crumbled at the other end, ground down at last, his parting shot a tired forehand landing in the tramlines. Monday — Sunday, November 8th — 14th. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. Andy Murray battles past David Ferrer and into Melbourne semis British number one takes advantage of the roof closing to grind out four set win Wed, Jan 27, , Kevin Mitchell At Melbourne Park.
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The account details entered are not currently associated with an Irish Times subscription. Please subscribe to sign in to comment. You should receive instructions for resetting your password. There were 13 breaks in total as two of the game's best returners traded blows, the first three games all going against serve. Murray was broken to love in a poor game when he had the chance to serve out the set at , but took control of the tie-break after a woeful Ferrer volley.
The Scot reeled off 12 of 15 points as he moved clear in the second, with Ferrer giving up his serve after an eighth double fault, and nine games out of 11 put Murray in command at in the third.
Ferrer, 33, remains one of the best competitors in the sport though and fought his way back to level terms before saving a match point on serve at The Spaniard might have been unhappy with the courtside photographers, complaining to the umpire about their noise, but he broke again and served out the set to reignite his hopes.
Murray was under pressure and left the court to cool down, returning in superb form as he once again took the game to Ferrer and made his greater power tell. Murray needed to mix up the pace and style of the exchanges if Ferrer was not to settle into a familiar grinding rhythm at the back of the court.
Murray messed up a break point that would have put him within sight of a two-set lead, and Ferrer held to extend the fight. Murray needed an ace to save the set, and another to hold for , the most timely rediscovery of his serve. There was further distraction and woe at the start of the third, when Murray complained about the lingering TV image on the big screen during play. He now had two opponents: himself and Ferrer.
But then he got a break — literally: shortly after forcing Ferrer to net a routine backhand for , Murray turned to see tournament director Craig Tiley walk on to announce the roof would be closed because of advancing thunder and lightning.
There were away for only nine minutes, pretty much cutting the match into two halves. He's in good shape. He fights so hard in every single match," Murray said. All credit to him. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Ferrer, along with Roger Federer who is 34, appears to have paved the way, with five of the world's current top 10 aged 30 or older, and only one - Japan's Kei Nishikori - younger than And Murray says Ferrer's durability amongst the elite has inspired him to believe he can play long into his thirties.
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