Duo whose last two meetings
have seen them scrapping it out for a combined NINE hours go at it again on
Saturda
Andy Murray claims he is running back into
form before another potential marathon with Juan Martin del Potro
World No.1 Murray arrived
here at the French Open struggling with his game and his
health. But despite wobbles in both his opening matches, he has won through to
face his first big test against the 2009 US Open champion.
The Scot won
their epic, four-hour Olympic final in Rio last summer but the Argentine gained
some revenge by taking a five-hour marathon in the Davis Cup in Glasgow a month later — the longest
match of either man’s career.
And bullish Murray insisted he is ready to go the distance again
in Saturday's third-round match, as he slowly rediscovers the touch which took
him all the way to the final here last year.
“The Davis
Cup tie was tough. After that, I didn’t feel great for the next couple of days
with the doubles and singles,” said the reigning Wimbledon champion. “But he
also will remember those matches, and they weren’t easy for him either, they
were tough for him, and I will try to make it the same for him again on
Saturday.
“I wasn’t
expecting to come in and play amazing after how the build-up had gone.
"The most important thing is to get through the matches,
and gaining the confidence of getting through tough situations and coming
through.
“I haven’t
been doing that the last couple of months, but I’ve got a couple of decent wins
here and played some good stuff at times. I’ve certainly played way better here
than I did in Rome or Madrid, so it does help. It’s more the length of the
matches that helps. And I will get better.”
Del Potro’s
career has been hit by three wrist surgeries but the No.29 seed insisted the
groin strain he felt before his opponent Nicolas Almagro
forfeited in tears on
Wednesday is “not a source of concern”.
He added:
“Murray and I waged fiercely-contested battles last year – one each. This
could be another great battle if I feel good. I need all my body in good
shape.”
Kyle Edmund is also in action on Saturday, in a winnable clash
with world No.56 Kevin Anderson.
British No.2
Edmund is looking to emulate his feat of reaching the fourth round of the US
Open last year, where he beat Richard Gasquet and John Isner.
Playing the
6ft 6in Anderson will offer the same sort of challenge as bringing down giant
American Isner did.
Edmund said:
“It’s a similar match-up in terms of tall guy, big serve, but just on a
different surface.”
Murray
leads Del Potro 6-3 in their head-to-heads — but they have shared the spoils in
their
last two classic meetings in the past year ...
Olympic final, Rio de Janeiro; August 14, 2016 — Murray won, 7-5
4-6 6-2 7-5 The British No.1
retained the gold medal, but only after a four-hour battle against the
Argentinian. Del Potro, then ranked world No.141, had reduced Novak Djokovic to
tears by beating him in the first round.
Davis Cup semi-final, Glasgow; September 16, 2016 — Del Potro won
6-4 5-7 6-7 6-3 6-4 The longest match of
either man’s career – five hours and seven minutes – saw the Scot’s first-ever
defeat in a home Davis Cup tie and effectively ended Great Britain’s defence of
the trophy. It turned out to be Murray’s last defeat of 2016 before he went on
a 25-match winning streak.
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