TENNIS NEWS: WATCHING ANDY Murray serve and volley his way to victory over David Nalbandian at the Paris Masters here yesterday was like being transported back to a time when Pete Sampras and Boris Becker threw themselves around at the net during the indoor season.
Outplayed for a set and a half by Nalbandian, Murray changed his strings, his tactics and his fortunes, hammering 18 aces on his way to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory and a place in the third round.
A minor scare concerning his right wrist early in the deciding set briefly threatened to derail his progress and prompted looks of anguish among his support group with the ATP World Tour Finals in London beginning a week on Sunday. But after some brief treatment Murray wrapped up a victory that was a reward for a tactical adjustment that could pay dividends in the future.
Murray picked blistering Nalbandian returns off his toes with volleys that forced the Argentinian into mistakes he had not made in the first set. “I volleyed really well and I felt really comfortable up at the net,” Murray said, adding that last week’s doubles win with his brother Jamie in Valencia had sharpened him up. “I just needed to do something different because I couldn’t win a point from the back of the court.”
In the first set Nalbandian ripped winners and served flawlessly, dropping only three points on his serve and breaking twice to wrap it up 33 minutes. At the start of the second set Murray sent his rackets to be restrung, looking for a tighter tension to get greater control. More good serving kept him in the second set until the restrung rackets returned, upon which his Argentinian opponent played his worst game to lose serve and take the match into a decider.
With the scores level at 2-2 in the third, Murray winced after a half-volley on the baseline. The Scot called the trainer but after a brief discussion he was back on court and dispelled doubts about his fitness by holding serve to lead 3-2. From that moment on there was a strange sense of inevitability about the outcome and two errors, a brilliant backhand return from Murray and another errant forehand handed the world number four the break for 5-3. Four points later the match was over.
Murray will next face Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
Guardian Service
