MELBOURNE PARK, Australia – Andy Murray secured a spot in the fourth round of the Ausralian Open on Saturday dominating serve and volley Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-0. The Scot’s ownership of the Frenchman has extended to 11 match wins in a row and 25 out of the last 26 matches.
Murray spoke about his match to media, “Yeah, it was good. I mean, it was tough for a set and a half. A tough match. I mean, he put a lot of pressure on my serve. He came to the net a lot. Saved quite a few games where he had breakpoints or 30‑All games.
“Once I got up a double break in the second, we played a lot of entertaining rallies, fun points.
“My movement was way better than the first two matches. I moved great tonight. That’s a good sign for me ’cause when I move well, the rest of my game goes well. That was the most pleasing thing for me about tonight.
“But, yeah, I mean, I need to keep improving, do things a bit better each round. Tonight I did a lot of things better, so I look forward to the next one.
Next up for Murray is Mikhail Kukushkin who upset an ailing Gaël Monfils in five-sets.
“When I played him in Brisbane,” said Murray, “the first six games he was unbelievable. He hardly missed a ball. He was hitting the ball huge, going pretty much down the line on every shot and cleaning lines.
“I mean, to me it’s not that unexpected. I saw a little bit of the match today. I didn’t quite know what was happening with Gaël. But, yeah, he’s won a couple of long five‑setters. He’s obviously in good shape. Yeah, when I played him in Brisbane, he was hitting the ball very well.”
Karen Pestaina for Tennis Panorama News
