Andy Murray was the last man standing inside the Palais Omnisports in Bercy last night as he reached the third round of the Paris Masters with a typically battling 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 win over James Blake.
On a day that saw a surprise defeat for the world No.1 Roger Federer, a near-miss for Rafael Nadal and the final match of Marat Safin’s career, Murray was pushed to the very limit and it was 1.45am by the time he finally clinched victory.
When they met in the final at Queen’s in June, Murray had easily dismissed the challenge of the American but this time Blake only succumbed after an almighty struggle.
After trading early breaks, Murray snatched a second break of the Blake serve in the eighth game and held on to take the set.
Blake missed two break-point chances in the second game of the second set but after it went to a tiebreak, the American surged ahead and snatched it 7-5, with Murray taking a nasty fall for his troubles.
The third set was equally nip and tuck but finally Murray clinched victory, 7-4 in the tie-break, when Blake’s forehand drifted long and the Scot now plays the Czech Radek Stepanek.
Should he get as far as the semi-finals, Murray will not find Federer in his way, though, after the Swiss was upended 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 thanks to a stunning performance by Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
It is Federer’s earliest defeat in a tournament since the Canada Masters more than 15 months ago and also the first time since then that Federer has lost back-to-back matches on the ATP Tour.
With the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London beginning a week on Sunday, the Swiss knows he needs to step things up if he wants to end the season on a high.
“I just have to make sure I play more aggressive and don’t let the other guy dictate play too much,” Federer said. “That’s why I think it’s good to go back to the practice courts, because I know what it’s going to take now. I’ve got plenty of time now, which is nice, actually.”
Nadal avoided a similar fate by the skin of his teeth as he saved five match points before squeezing past fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
The world No.2 flirted with disaster when Almagro served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, only for five match points to come and go as Nadal leveled.
Almagro then served for the match at 5-3 in the third set but having earlier had treatment for cramp, his movement was badly impaired and Nadal took advantage to wrap up a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 victory.
“I played bad today,” Nadal admitted. “That’s a difficult court for me, maybe. Today I played bad (but) I won. That’s a very good thing. That’s one positive thing that I had all my career, and it’s important not to lose this ability to win matches when you are not playing really well.”
Earlier in the day, Murray had led the tributes to Marat Safin as the Russian waved goodbye to the tennis world after a colourful 12-year career.
The 29-year-old’s last hurrah came with a more than decent performance in his 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 defeat by US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000, the last event before this month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Murray said Safin was “pretty intimidating to play against” and that he will be “greatly missed” and the former world No.1, twice a grand-slam champion, was given a rapturous reception from the crowd inside the Palais Omnisports in Bercy, where he won this title three times.
“It’s a very special moment for me,” Safin said. “My celebrations will be low-key,” he joked, “but there are a lot of married people here today so I don’t want to say what I will do.”
