When Murray lost his way, twice in two days

Truth is, it was Murray who appeared in need of a jolt of some sort, especially while he was losing 16 points in a row during one stretch. “I lost my way on the court today,” Murray said, “for quite a while.” 

For now, Murray is still in the mix at Roland Garros, reaching the third round by coming from behind yet again to win 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday against French wild-card entry Mathias Bourgue, who was playing in the second tour-level match of his life. The second-seeded Murray acknowledged he can’t keep getting pushed to the limit if he has designs on adding a third Grand Slam title to his collection. 

“I need to go and rest,” said Murray, already on court for 10 sets and more than 7 hours. “It’s been a tough, tough few days.” 

It sure has been. Murray, three times a semi-finalist in Paris, never had won consecutive five-set matches in any tournament. But he twice overcame a set deficit before edging 37-year-old qualifier Radek Stepanek 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 in a first-round match suspended by darkness Monday and completed Tuesday. Then, against Bourgue — a 22-year-old buoyed by a partisan crowd that repeatedly regaled their man with standing ovations and jeered line calls that didn’t go his way — Murray dropped eight straight games, including that 16-point drought, and fell behind by two sets to one. 

“I couldn’t believe it myself,” Bourgue said. “I was very happy. I was very proud. I knew I was on top of things at that point.” 

Murray is more familiar with his next opponent: No. 27 Ivo Karlovic, who hit 41 aces to beat Australian wild-card entry Jordan Thompson 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4), 12-10 and become, at 37, the oldest man to reach a major’s third round since Jimmy Connors at the 1991 US Open. Murray is 6-0 against the 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Karlovic. 

“Physically, the average rally length will only be a few shots — maybe three, four shots max. So that’s a positive there,” Murray said. “At least I get a day’s rest now. But you can’t continue playing matches like that and then expect to win the tournament.”

Not since Gaston Gaudio in 2004 has a man been taken to five sets in each of the French Open’s first two rounds and gone on to lift the trophy.