Andy Murray was under pressure in the early stages of his second round match Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei but the Scot weathered the storm before eventually cruising into the third round of Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the former Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
Murray battles back to take opener
It was Lu who got off to the quicker start, attacking Murray in the rallies early and scoring a break to 15 in the opening game and hold for an immediate 2-0 lead. The Taiwanese was playing at a very high level through the early stages, keeping the ball deep and pouring pressure on Murray. But cracks started to show in the sixth game and he found himself down double break point. He would save the first but missed a drop shot at the end of a titanic rally to give Murray the break back and level the set at 3-3.
With the set now tied, the momentum completely shifted. Lu was no longer finding his spots with regularity and Murray was beginning to dictate play. After holding, the world number two would break to love to give himself a chance to serve out the set. Lu would put up a fight, even holding a pair of break points, but he could not prevent the Scot from winning his fifth straight game and taking the opening set.
Momentum swings firmly to Murray
The Lu who came out swinging in the opening set seemed like a distant memory as Murray turned the tables and broke in the opening game of the second set. The Taiwanese finally stopped Murray seven-game run when he held for 1-2. Lu would start to keep up with the Scot and actually had a chance to break back in the fifth game but could not convert. It would prove to be a costly missed opportunity as he would miss three game points in his next service game and would be broken by Murray yet again, giving the break away with a double fault at 40-AD. The Scot would have no trouble serving out the set to take a 2-0 lead.
Murray cruises to victory
Much like the second set, Murray came into the third on a run with a ton of momentum. It was clear that he was the man in the ascendancy as he broke Lu to love in the first game of the third set. The Scot would hold easily before breaking for a second time, this time to 15, courtesy of a double fault from Lu, to grab a double break lead in the third. He would hold to win his seventh game in a row, his second seven-game run of the match.
Murray seemed well on his way to a third break when he raced ahead 0-30 on Lu’s serve in the next game but this time, the Taiwanese upped his level enough to force four straight errors from Murray and finally got on the board with a hold. After the Scot held to move to within a game of victory, he found himself at match point on Lu’s serve. He missed the first with a slice into the net but his opponent double-faulted the match away on the second.
By the numbers
Murray made Lu pay for mistakes, including missed first serves. Lu only won 28 percent of his second serve points, which was particularly devastating considering he only put 56 percent of his first serves into play. Murray had a strong edge in the winners category, hitting 31 to his opponent’s 20. He was considerably more consistent with his groundstrokes, only hitting 12 unforced errors to Lu’s 25. In the end, Murray broke serve seven times, while limiting his opponent to only four break points in total, only one of which was converted.
Murray will take on John Millman in the third round.