Juan Martin del Potro praises 'real No 1' Andy Murray after French Open loss
Saturday 3 June 2017 17:25, UK
Juan Martin del Potro was full of praise for Andy Murray after his defeat at the French Open, saying he played like a "real No 1".
Del Potro wasted four set points in the opening set - including one off a double fault - before Murray went on to claim a 7-6 (8) 7-5 6-0 victory to reach the fourth round.
"I had great opportunities in the first two sets," said Del Potro. "Those sets were very decisive. I felt I was playing well. I could feel I was hurting him.
"But it still was extremely complicated, because he was starting to return the balls better. My service was not hurting him as much anymore later into the game. He is a real No 1."
Del Potro was largely the better player in the 85-minute opening set, but world No 1 Murray was relentless in his defence, forcing his opponent to play off his backhand which has lost much of its formidable zip following three wrist surgeries.
At the end of the first set, Del Potro slumped on the net, head down after squandering chance after chance.
"He played very smartly. I knew that if I stayed behind the baseline, he can only do so much. So that's why he kept forcing me to move," recognised the 29th seed. "Then he forced me to play backhand first, and then he sliced me.
"Sometimes the balls would then go crosscourt diagonally, and only a very, very few smart players can do that. Andy is one of the smartest guys on the circuit."
Murray, who has now defeated Del Potro seven times in 10 meetings, admitted the key to victory was to keep his opponent moving and guessing.
"I think with the conditions today, it's not easy to generate pace," said the 2016 runner-up. "On his backhand side, he doesn't make many mistakes off that side. He's normally very, very solid on the backhand crosscourt.
"But each time I had the opportunity to move around and dictate the points with my forehand from my backhand corner. You need to open up the other side of the court first. It's important to get the balance right."
Murray arrived in Paris unsure what to expect of himself after a poor run of form on clay but his prospects for matching last year's run to the final suddenly look a lot brighter.
The 30-year-old said: "It was obviously an important win for me and a big match because Juan, when he's playing well, is one of the best players in the world.
"To be playing him this early on in the slam is obviously not easy, but it can be a very positive thing. You play someone that good, maybe you're a little bit more switched on.
"It was a good one for me to get through and each set I played better, I started to figure things out again during the match.
"Maybe I didn't start the best, but I made some changes in the match tactically. That's very positive, because I wasn't doing that for the last few tournaments and the last couple of matches I have done it, and totally turned the matches around.
"I didn't come here with the mindset that I'm definitely going to go a long way here. I was going to try and just get through the first round and hopefully feel better each day. That's been the case so far.
