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| Murray Survives Close Call in 5 Sets; Djokovic and del Potro Advance | Murray Survives Close Call in 5 Sets; Djokovic and del Potro Advance |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WIMBLEDON, England — Andy Murray did not want to hear it. He did not want to hear about how his draw got so much easier with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga out. He did not want to hear about how he was never going to have a better chance to win Wimbledon. And he certainly did not want to hear about how lucky he was to have the unseeded Fernando Verdasco as his quarterfinal opponent. | WIMBLEDON, England — Andy Murray did not want to hear it. He did not want to hear about how his draw got so much easier with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga out. He did not want to hear about how he was never going to have a better chance to win Wimbledon. And he certainly did not want to hear about how lucky he was to have the unseeded Fernando Verdasco as his quarterfinal opponent. |
| “Verdasco is a very, very good tennis player,” Murray, the No. 2 seed, said Monday. “Very good at tennis. He’s playing very well this week. He’s extremely dangerous when he’s on his game.” | “Verdasco is a very, very good tennis player,” Murray, the No. 2 seed, said Monday. “Very good at tennis. He’s playing very well this week. He’s extremely dangerous when he’s on his game.” |
| If the British fans and the news media did not get it then, they did by the time Murray lost the first two sets of his quarterfinal against Verdasco on Wednesday afternoon. | If the British fans and the news media did not get it then, they did by the time Murray lost the first two sets of his quarterfinal against Verdasco on Wednesday afternoon. |
| Verdasco, ranked as high as seventh in 2009, is now 54th. At 29, he had never advanced past the fourth round here before. But he credited a racket switch at the beginning of the grass-court season for improved results, and he had been one of the best servers at Wimbledon. | Verdasco, ranked as high as seventh in 2009, is now 54th. At 29, he had never advanced past the fourth round here before. But he credited a racket switch at the beginning of the grass-court season for improved results, and he had been one of the best servers at Wimbledon. |
| Murray struggled with Verdasco’s aggressive left-handed serve, which regularly topped 130 miles an hour and hit the lines. | Murray struggled with Verdasco’s aggressive left-handed serve, which regularly topped 130 miles an hour and hit the lines. |
| Murray double-faulted on set point to lose a tightly fought first set but seemed to get back on track by breaking Verdasco in the third game of the second and took a 3-1 lead. | Murray double-faulted on set point to lose a tightly fought first set but seemed to get back on track by breaking Verdasco in the third game of the second and took a 3-1 lead. |
| Then things got ugly for Murray and his fans. Verdasco won five straight games, and Murray failed to convert three break-point chances to lose, 6-3. When it was over, Murray was loudly cursing and scolding himself as he sat during the changeover. | Then things got ugly for Murray and his fans. Verdasco won five straight games, and Murray failed to convert three break-point chances to lose, 6-3. When it was over, Murray was loudly cursing and scolding himself as he sat during the changeover. |
| “I was up, 3-1, and then made some bad mistakes, poor choices on the court,” Murray said. | “I was up, 3-1, and then made some bad mistakes, poor choices on the court,” Murray said. |
| A few years ago, that might have been the end for Murray, whose emotions so distracted him that he could not right his game. But a more mature Murray, a Murray with a major championship under his belt, did not panic. | A few years ago, that might have been the end for Murray, whose emotions so distracted him that he could not right his game. But a more mature Murray, a Murray with a major championship under his belt, did not panic. |
| “When you’ve been in that position a lot of times, you know how to think through it and not get too far ahead of yourself,” Murray said. “I definitely didn’t rush when I went two sets-love down. I slowed myself down, if anything, and that was a good sign.” | “When you’ve been in that position a lot of times, you know how to think through it and not get too far ahead of yourself,” Murray said. “I definitely didn’t rush when I went two sets-love down. I slowed myself down, if anything, and that was a good sign.” |
| But he had a long way to go. With its favorite down, the Centre Court crowd could not contain itself, yelling, “Come on, Andy!” in the middle of points and repeatedly being admonished by the chair umpire. There also was hardly a patch of grass left on Murray Mount, with its big television outside Court No. 1. | |
| “I love it when it’s like that,” said Murray, who is trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936. “It was extremely noisy. They were right into it pretty much every single point.” | “I love it when it’s like that,” said Murray, who is trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936. “It was extremely noisy. They were right into it pretty much every single point.” |
| He quickly took a 3-0 lead in the third set and this time did not squander it, winning, 6-1. Verdasco said the key to the match was the fourth set, when Murray saved four break points, then converted his first and only break-point chance of the set and went on to win, 6-4. | He quickly took a 3-0 lead in the third set and this time did not squander it, winning, 6-1. Verdasco said the key to the match was the fourth set, when Murray saved four break points, then converted his first and only break-point chance of the set and went on to win, 6-4. |
| The fifth set was an on-serve duel until the 11th game, when Murray earned the break and then held at love to win the match, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. | The fifth set was an on-serve duel until the 11th game, when Murray earned the break and then held at love to win the match, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. |
| “Maybe when I was younger, you know, I could have lost that match,” Murray said. “But I think I’ve learnt how to come back from tough situations more as I got older.” | “Maybe when I was younger, you know, I could have lost that match,” Murray said. “But I think I’ve learnt how to come back from tough situations more as I got older.” |
| He will next play the No. 24 seed Jerzy Janowicz, a big-serving 22-year-old from Poland, who advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating his countryman Lukasz Kubot, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. | He will next play the No. 24 seed Jerzy Janowicz, a big-serving 22-year-old from Poland, who advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating his countryman Lukasz Kubot, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. |
| Like Murray, Juan Martín del Potro and Novak Djokovic had not lost a set in the tournament going into the quarterfinals. Unlike Murray, they still have not lost a set. On the scoreboard, their straight-sets victories might have looked routine. | Like Murray, Juan Martín del Potro and Novak Djokovic had not lost a set in the tournament going into the quarterfinals. Unlike Murray, they still have not lost a set. On the scoreboard, their straight-sets victories might have looked routine. |
| But that is only if you did not see del Potro lying on the court in the first game, his injured left knee being inspected by a doctor when another fall left him close to retiring from the match. | But that is only if you did not see del Potro lying on the court in the first game, his injured left knee being inspected by a doctor when another fall left him close to retiring from the match. |
| It was only routine if you did not see Djokovic down by two breaks in the second set against Tomas Berdych. | It was only routine if you did not see Djokovic down by two breaks in the second set against Tomas Berdych. |
| Del Potro and Djokovic will meet in the semifinals Friday, but their experiences getting there could hardly have been more different. | Del Potro and Djokovic will meet in the semifinals Friday, but their experiences getting there could hardly have been more different. |
| After defeating the seventh-seeded Berdych, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3, the top-ranked Djokovic said he felt fresh, calm and comfortable as he reached his 13th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. | After defeating the seventh-seeded Berdych, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3, the top-ranked Djokovic said he felt fresh, calm and comfortable as he reached his 13th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. |
| After beating fourth-seeded David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5), the No. 8 del Potro is in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time, advancing with a heavily taped knee after slipping and hyperextending it in his third-round match Saturday. | After beating fourth-seeded David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5), the No. 8 del Potro is in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time, advancing with a heavily taped knee after slipping and hyperextending it in his third-round match Saturday. |
| He hyperextended the knee again in a spectacular fall Wednesday, needing a medical timeout and anti-inflammatories that he called “magic pills.” | He hyperextended the knee again in a spectacular fall Wednesday, needing a medical timeout and anti-inflammatories that he called “magic pills.” |
| “I was really close to pulling out because I felt a lot of pain,” del Potro told the BBC. | “I was really close to pulling out because I felt a lot of pain,” del Potro told the BBC. |
| But he played on because, he said, the quarterfinals of Wimbledon were too important to him, and the doctors told him he could play without making the injury worse. | But he played on because, he said, the quarterfinals of Wimbledon were too important to him, and the doctors told him he could play without making the injury worse. |
| In the third game, del Potro broke Ferrer, who has been bothered by an ankle injury. Del Potro said the early service break gave him confidence, and he did not think about his knee after winning the first set. | In the third game, del Potro broke Ferrer, who has been bothered by an ankle injury. Del Potro said the early service break gave him confidence, and he did not think about his knee after winning the first set. |
| Ferrer struggled with his own serve in the first set, and could not handle del Potro’s serve throughout. Del Potro, who won the 2009 United States Open but has been slowed by injuries since, won 87 percent of his first-serve points. | Ferrer struggled with his own serve in the first set, and could not handle del Potro’s serve throughout. Del Potro, who won the 2009 United States Open but has been slowed by injuries since, won 87 percent of his first-serve points. |
| Del Potro saved his best for last, perhaps knowing that a long match would not be good for his knee. In the third-set tiebreaker, he gave himself a match point with a blistering cross-court forehand winner. Then he closed out with a running forehand down the line that he called “my best forehand ever.” | Del Potro saved his best for last, perhaps knowing that a long match would not be good for his knee. In the third-set tiebreaker, he gave himself a match point with a blistering cross-court forehand winner. Then he closed out with a running forehand down the line that he called “my best forehand ever.” |
| Del Potro collapsed — in joy this time — and lay on his back, pumping his fists. | Del Potro collapsed — in joy this time — and lay on his back, pumping his fists. |
| “It’s my first semifinals here, another semifinals in Grand Slam after couple of years,” he said. “I think I’m in the fight again with the top guys. That is my challenge for the future.” | “It’s my first semifinals here, another semifinals in Grand Slam after couple of years,” he said. “I think I’m in the fight again with the top guys. That is my challenge for the future.” |
| Djokovic will certainly pose a formidable challenge for a player who might not be completely healthy. Berdych had opportunities against Djokovic on Wednesday. He was up by 5-4 in the first-set tiebreaker, then made three straight errors to give Djokovic the set. | Djokovic will certainly pose a formidable challenge for a player who might not be completely healthy. Berdych had opportunities against Djokovic on Wednesday. He was up by 5-4 in the first-set tiebreaker, then made three straight errors to give Djokovic the set. |
| Berdych went up by two breaks at 3-0 in the second. But Djokovic won the next four games, and the rest of the match seemed routine. | Berdych went up by two breaks at 3-0 in the second. But Djokovic won the next four games, and the rest of the match seemed routine. |
| “You have to play really on the limit, playing really great to have a chance to beat him,” Berdych said. “That was not my case today.” | “You have to play really on the limit, playing really great to have a chance to beat him,” Berdych said. “That was not my case today.” |
| That has not been the case for any of Djokovic’s opponents so far. | That has not been the case for any of Djokovic’s opponents so far. |