Murray did well to keep his mind on the game despite news of his father-in-law’s medical problems. PHOTO: REUTERS
World number two Andy Murray beat Portugal’s Joao Sousa in four sets to reach the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday, apparently unaware of a medical drama involving his father-in-law on the adjacent court.
The four-time finalist wore down the 33rd-ranked Sousa to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours, 38 minutes, while Nigel Sears, father of his pregnant wife, Kim, needed emergency medical treatment.
Sears who is also the coach of Ana Ivanovic, was treated by medics on a stairway and Ivanovic’s match with Madison Keys on Rod Laver Arena was suspended for almost an hour before resuming.
The 58-year-old was later stretchered away and taken by ambulance to hospital, and was said to be in a conscious state.
Murray's father-in-law in mid-match medical drama
Murray will play the winner of the all-Australian clash between Bernard Tomic and John Millman in the fourth round.
The Scot left the Margaret Court Arena without doing the usual post-match on-court interview and it was announced he would not be doing a press conference. Witnesses said he was met by his mother Judy upon leaving the court.
He later released some comments about his match, saying he had struggled to put away the tigerish Sousa.
“I thought I struggled. At the beginning I think he was extremely aggressive, very intense,” said Murray. “It was tricky. I didn’t feel great, I wasn’t in a great rhythm and I wasn’t hitting the ball clean at the start. I just tried to keep fighting. At the end I was actually hitting the ball well and felt better at the end. It was good to get through that one.”
Murray broke Sousa twice to take the opening set, but lost his first set of the tournament as news filtered through of the ongoing drama in the stadium next door.
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The world number two asserted command in the third set with two more breaks and then made crucial breaks in the fifth and seventh games to dominate the final set.
Murray hit 41 winners and made 32 unforced errors, but broke Sousa’s serve six times, while dropping his own serve twice.
The Scot is projected to face either David Ferrer or John Isner if he makes the quarter-finals and possibly either Milos Raonic or Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.
Ivanovic knocked out by Keys
Ivanovic, on the other hand, was not able to handle Sears’ medical problems quite that well as American Madison Keys completed a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over the Serb.
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The match was delayed by Sears’ treatment, with an extremely worried Ivanovic watching on. After the match finally resumed, with both players showing great courage and composure, Keys took the upper hand to reach the fourth round.
Neither player appeared for their post-match press conference but in comments supplied by tennis officials, Ivanovic said she was disappointed to lose, without referring to the mid-match drama.
“Obviously a little bit disappointed but a lot to look forward to,” she said.
Keys, a semi-finalist last year, also did not speak about the delay, only thanking the fans for their support on a tough day.
“I think after last year, I kind of created somewhat of a fan base. Coming back to that is always great,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2016.
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