British hope Andy Murray, the fourth-seeded player in the men’s Wimbledon 2011 draw, lost the opening set of his first round match against ATP No. 59 Daniel Gimeno-Traver, and things were looking grim. But Murray recovered brilliantly, winning the last 15 games of the match for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 victory.
Wimbledon 2011 Scores: No. 4 Andy Murray Drops First Set, But Finishes Strong
With rain cancelling play on all other courts, Murray’s early struggles under Centre Court’s retractable roof had the full attention of the tennis world.
Murray has made it to the semifinals of the last two Wimbledons, and has never lost before the third round at SW19 in his career. If he were to have lost this match, the British press would likely refer to him solely as “Scottish” for the rest of time.
On his third break point, Gimeno-Traver secured the lone break of the set in the ninth game, and held to take the first frame 6-4. Murray went 0 for 1 on break points in the opening frame.
But at 3-3 in the second set, something seemed to click for Murray. Adding just a bit more pace and risk to his shots paid enormous dividends, and his first break of the match in the eighth game of the second set seemed to completely take Gimeno-Traver out of it.
Gimeno-Traver was not to win another game from that point on, eating two bagels and letting the British faithful breathe easily. Gimeno-Traver falls to 6-19 in 2011 with the loss, an abysmal record that hardly seems as surprising after witnessing today’s disappearing act.
In the second round, Murray will play the winner of the rain-halted match between Blaz Kavcic and Tobias Kamke. Kamke led 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-5 when the rains came.
Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 1 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at Wimbledon’s official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.
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