So irked was Andy Murray during a hard-fought second-round victory at the French Open that the world No 1 came close to sitting in his chair in protest at the giant television camera suspended on wires above his court.
Murray has experienced many tough battles throughout his career on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the second show court at Roland Garros, but yesterday’s 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) against Martin Klizan, the world No 50 of Slovakia, was notable for the constant grumbling throughout by the Briton. The camera, his coaching team, the umpire and even himself were targets of his ire.
It is nothing new, of course, for Murray to be annoyed during his service games by the movement above of the “spidercam”, which captures 360-degree footage.
However, the threat to umpire Emmanuel Joseph that he would sit down until it moved out of his sightline was a first.
“I don’t like it when it’s in my ball toss,” Murray said. “It puts me off, and I asked a few times today [for it to be moved], and it kept coming back. I just said, ‘If it’s there in my ball toss again, I’m going to sit down and wait for it to move,’ because I just don’t feel I should have to be asking for it [during] every change of ends to not be there. It’s quite a simple thing to change.
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“It’s a very small issue, not something to get too worked up about, but I just don’t like it. I would prefer if it was not there when I am serving.”
Given that Murray has repeatedly complained about it during his career, it is clearly more of an issue than he would like to let on.
Yesterday, Murray did not need any excuse to moan and even admitted during his post-match on-court interview that his behaviour could improve.
“Just getting frustrated on the court is something that I have always battled with and always fought, ever since I was 20, 21 years old, and it’s more venting,” Murray said.
“That’s just how I am. I feel like I have improved it from where I was in the middle of my career. It’s something that I constantly try to get better.”
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There were ominous signs during the warm-up that this was not going to be a smooth afternoon for Murray, showing his annoyance at his misfiring serve. Sure enough, it took just three games for Klizan to break as he dictated play with his powerful forehand.
Murray was not happy again with his movement, sarcastically shouting out “moving like a dream”, but he still managed to break back for 5-5. Klizan redeemed himself by winning the first-set tiebreak, during which Murray was heard saying that he “can’t concentrate”.
A break for 3-2 in the second set helped Murray snatch the momentum as he became more assertive from the back of the court. Klizan’s head dropped as his unforced error count steadily increased and Murray pulled away to take a two sets to one lead.
Murray began to mutter again in the fourth set as Klizan mounted a fightback. He told the umpire Joseph that he needed to be “sharper than that” after a dispute over a double bounce, and then complained about the lack of energy from his coaching team. “Flattest I’ve seen you guys for a long time,” Murray roared before later sealing victory in the tiebreak with a sublime drop shot-lob combination.
“I think a lot of the time when I’m playing, and especially when I’m frustrated or down, I don’t always project a lot of positivity on the court,” Murray said. “Sometimes I think also for my team it’s difficult to know exactly how I’m feeling or what it is that I need when I’m on the court, so I think my job is really to try to be more positive whilst I’m out there.
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“And I think that helps everyone, my whole team. I think they also feed off that a little bit, as well. But the last few months have obviously been tough, there’s not been a lot of good stuff going on out there. When I’m getting frustrated, I think it’s not easy for them, either.”
There was satisfaction, though, to be taken from overcoming the challenge of Klizan, particularly on the physical side. Conditions were hot once again in Paris yesterday and Murray was pleased with how his fitness held up after struggling with illness last week.
It is an encouraging sign before a tantalising match with Juan Martín del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, on Saturday. Their past two meetings, in the Davis Cup semi-final and Olympic final, were bruising encounters.
Del Potro is not quite at full fitness, though, injuring his groin before Spanish opponent Nicolás Almagro retired from their second-round match in tears after suffering a knee injury. Del Potro generously consoled Almagro and helped pack his bag.
Key stat
67
unforced errors from Klizan, more than double Murray’s 29
Moments after Murray sealed his progress, Kyle Edmund, the 22-year-old British No 2, followed with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 win against Argentina’s Renzo Olivo. Edmund has not dropped a set yet and has been hailed as a future top-ten player by Jim Courier, the four-times grand-slam champion. Edmund will face Kevin Anderson, the world No 56, in the third round.
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“I respect him a lot and for him to say that is nice,” Edmund said of Courier’s comments. “People have thrown different numbers around and it’s nice to hear that stuff.
“But that’s down to me to do that and to put the work in. It doesn’t just happen overnight to get in the top ten. It has to come from winning matches and beating good players.”
British men eye history
If Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund both win their matches tomorrow, it will be the first time more than one British man has reached the fourth round of the French Open since Billy Knight, Robert Keith Wilson and Michael Sangster did so in 1963.
Knight lost in the fourth round, Wilson fell to that year’s runner-up, Frenchman Pierre Darmon, in the quarter-final and Sangster fell to that year’s winner, Australian Roy Emerson, in the semi-final.
Last year Murray and Aljaz Bedene reached the third round but Bedene lost to Novak Djokovic, who went on to defeat Murray in the final.
