analysis Scot can't afford slumps during semi-final showdown with Nadal, writes Hugh MacDonald
Instead, the 31-year-old Argentine is called Torino, after the Ford Torino -- Starsky and Hutch’s runaround -- because his friends believe he is like an old classic car that goes on and on. He ran out of road against the Scot yet again on Court Suzanne Lenglen last night.
Murray took his record against the tall right-hander to seven victories to one defeat. Murray’s only loss was in the first meeting in Australia so long ago that the Scot was probably hampered by playing on a school night.
The world No.4 has Chela’s number and duly racked up his sixth successive win against the wily but limited Argentine. It was also his third consecutive victory over Chela at Roland Garros.
The result, then, was predictable. The manner of it was not. Murray won 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, 6-3 in two hours 53 minutes of hard-fought tennis. Chela, the world No.34, made it difficult for the Scot but he could have made it an even more vexing afternoon for Murray.
He scorned three sets points in the first set and thus failed to take the initiative. From then on Torino was trying to scale a mountain towing a caravan. In many ways this was a match so ugly it should only be replayed after the watershed.
The windy conditions made serving very, very tricky. There were 13 breaks of serve in three sets. Pistol Pete Sampras must be birling in his mansion. Thirteen breaks of serve was a career for him.
There were also unforced errors from both sides and a momentum that shifted sides until finally old Torino ran out of gas. However, it was a result of considerable beauty for Murray. He has endured a week of great anxiety, he has survived an extraordinary five-setter against Viktor Troicki and he eventually took care of business against Chela.
There were murmurs last night about the quality of Murray’s performance. Certainly, he was only sporadically brilliant and had a plunge in form in both of the first two sets. But Murray now prepares to play the world No.1 Rafael Nadal tomorrow.
He would have taken that at the beginning of the tournament. He would have prayed for that eventuality on Saturday night as he ruefully observed an ankle injury that threatened his very participation in the competition.
He found a way to win yesterday after becoming somewhat lost in the first set. Chela, probably sensing that as he approaches 32 he is never going to beat Murray in a long match, started brightly, breaking the Scot early.
Murray was struggling but was still typically defiant, saving two set points at 3-5. He then denied Chela another set point with a blistering forehand and fought his way into a tie-break. The Dunblane player then made short work of his opponent, winning four consecutive points en route to tieing up the tiebrek 7-2.
It looked as if Torino was ready to call for roadside assistance as he made his way to his chair. Murray was surely now in command. He started moving the big right-hander around the court, racing to a 5-2 lead and emphasising his superiority with some technically brilliant shots. The Scot had two set points at that point but took neither and was broken.
The Scot had stalled and Torino found another gear. He fought back to 5-5 and suddenly a straightforward set had become full of anxiety. Murray, though, reacts to adversity with belligerence. He broke Chela and took the the second set point offered at 6-5 with an ace.
The first two sets had taken two hours and 18 minutes. It had been hard work for Murray.
It had been even for more difficult for Chela. The Torino could have been forgiven for taking the foot off the pedal and opting for an honourable retirement in the third. Murray seemed imperious, breaking in the first game and racing to 3-1 with a serve that was finally functioning. But Chela seemed wired for defiance. He kept trying to force Murray to make one more shot and he regularly went for glory, especially on the forehand.
The Scot was sentenced to periods of frustration as he found it difficult to close the match out. However, he stayed on course in a buffeting wind and ended matters with an audacious drop shot. The last set had taken a mere 35 minutes compared to its marathon predecessors that had taken more than an hour each.
Murray’s immediate reaction to victory seemed to be one of relief. His achievement, though, is worthy of unmitigated praise. The Scot has now reached semi-finals at all four grand slam tournaments. At 24, he has racked up his sixth career grand slam last four.
The road to his meeting with Nadal was bumpy and arduous. However, it was the Torino that finally crashed and burned. Murray remains on track for glory.
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