Andy handy on clay

Andy Murray took a long time to recover from his Aussie Open Final pain, and amazingly it came with the clay season in Europe.  Some stellar showings from a player better recognized  for his hard court prowess and pretensions for grass court glory, the Scotsman should have claimed the scalp of the impregnable Djokovic in the memorable Rome semi final.  He did enough to suggest that he is back to earning the number 4 spot in the world and in contention for the majors in the latter half of the year.

Here in Paris a second round challenge lay in the abilities of Italian clay-courter (aren't they all?!) Simone Bolelli.  It was Bolelli who had the early running and Murray had difficulty finding his sea legs, but the best players generally find a way and Handy Andy did, with the first set being forced to it's limits - a tie break ultimately giving the Brits relief and keeping Murray happy though you would never know by looking at him.  You would swear someone had stolen his last marble.
The standard of tennis had picked up from the men's matches I witnessed the previous day, with the touch, wicked spin, and pin point lobs a particular treat, especially considering the variable windy conditions.

No change in the second set where on key points Murray was able to produce some magic that made the basic difference - 7-6 6-4 could easily have been Murray facing a five setter. As it was Bolelli believed he had the game to make that scenario a reality. A gripping third set of high standard grand slam tournament tennis in trying conditions approached conclusion with Murray breaking and serving for a third round place. The Italian was not to be denied and broke back; Murray had to convince him a second time that the story line was written and that Bolelli should go gracefully head held high a respected loser.