Andy Murray has defied his age, a metal hip and an awful slip against Stefanos Tsitsipas to take a two-sets-to-one lead against the World No.5, before Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew curtailed his charge. The 36-year-old will take the ascendancy when his match against the Greek star resumes on Friday at the All England Club, as the backlog of matches continues to pile up for organisers.
Murray lost the first set of a high quality contest but roared back to lead 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 when the Centre Court duel was halted just before the 11pm curfew. That saw jeers ringing out from a parochial home crowd who wanted to keep watching the latest chapter in Murray’s extraordinary career.
The Brit looked to be in serious trouble when serving for the third set when he was caught off balance and slipped on the grass, letting out a chilling scream as he clutched at his left groin and crumpled to the ground in agony. To the astonishment of the Centre Court faithful and millions watching around the world, the 36-year-old warhorse picked himself back up off the floor to finish the job.
Riding the wave of support from home fans, the local hero almost blew the roof off Centre Court after serving out the set to take a decisive lead against Tsitsipas. The incredible scenes sent social media into meltdown as fans hailed Murray’s legendary fighting spirit after such a nasty incident.
