Australian Open: Andy Murray digs in but says he was ready to quit Open after Nigel Sears' health scare
Australian Open: World No 2 gave another demonstration of his great resilience
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Your support makes all the difference.There have been times in the last few days when playing a tennis match was probably one of the last things on Andy Murray’s mind, but the world No 2 gave another demonstration of his great resilience here last night to secure his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the seventh year in a row.
If Murray’s 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Bernard Tomic was patchy by his high standards, winning a match was probably one of the least challenging tasks he had faced since the remarkable events of Saturday evening, when his father-in-law, Nigel Sears, collapsed on another court while the Scot was booking his place in the fourth round.
Sears, who coaches Ana Ivanovic, was released from hospital on Sunday after undergoing tests and was flying home last night. Among those who will be hugely relieved to see him will be his daughter, Kim, who is at home expecting her and Murray’s first baby next month.
Murray said he had decided only yesterday to continue playing in the tournament. “If the news about Nigel’s health was not positive, then there was absolutely no chance I would have kept playing,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t straightforward. I’m just glad he’s on his way home now and can be back with his family.
“When I woke up today I felt quite drained, quite tired. As the day went on and I decided to play, I started to focus a little bit better. But definitely, on the court tonight, I was more emotional than normal. I was talking to myself after every single point almost, from the first point through till the last, which was obviously not ideal. That uses up a lot of energy. Again, that just makes you more up-and-down throughout the match as well.
“I was trying to just concentrate on the match when I was out there, but it’s been a hard, hard few days. Hopefully it will get better the next few days. I just can’t believe something like that happened a few days ago. It’s shocking. Nige is an unbelievably fit guy. Very, very scary.”
Murray told the BBC: “Me and Nige are very close. We spend a lot of time together. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known Kim almost, because of what he does. It was tough.”
Murray said he had spent two hours at the hospital on Saturday evening with Sears, having gone there immediately after winning his match against Joao Sousa. Murray’s brother, Jamie, had kept Kim and her mother informed after they learned of Sears’ collapse while watching television coverage back home.
“I’m not going into how everyone’s dealing with it,” Murray said when asked how his wife had coped with the news. “There is a lot of stuff going on right now, back home as well. It has not been easy for anyone.”
Murray returned to the hospital for a few hours on Sunday morning and did not begin his preparations to face Tomic until a practice session later in the afternoon.
“When things like that happen, it does put things in perspective,” he said. “But everyone’s just very happy that Nige is doing well, that he can be back home with his friends and family, be with Kim as well at this time. It will be nice for her, I’m sure.”
The win over Tomic extended Murray’s record against Australians to 17 wins from 17 matches. It was an in-and-out contest with frequent breaks of serve and dips in form by both players, but Murray never looked in any serious danger of losing to the world No 17. In the quarter-finals he faces a familiar foe tomorrow in David Ferrer, who beat John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. In the semi-finals the winner will play Gaël Monfils or Milos Raonic, who beat the 2014 champion, Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3.
Murray said he now expected to be in better shape to cope with whatever challenges lie ahead of him this week. “The fact that I was able to handle everything that has happened the last few days is a good sign,” he said.
“I wasn’t perfect today – far from it – and I didn’t expect to be before I went on the court. I did show a lot of emotion and was very expressive on the court, animated from almost the first point of the match, the first game of the match. And I expected to feel that way. But I think in the next few days I will definitely be a lot calmer. I’ll get some good rest in and I think I will be fine now.”
Jamie Murray and his new partner, Bruno Soares, reached the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles by beating Britain’s Dominic Inglot and Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt 6-3, 6-4. Murray and Katarina Srebotnik also reached the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah.
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