When the match was suspended last night due to darkness, the big question was: how would Murray start?  His ankle was a little gimpy at the start.  Or maybe it was the tight wrapping on his right ankle.  Very quickly, Murray was down 5-0, but managed to reel off 4 games in a row before Troicki managed to hold and win the first set.  The second set was closer, with Murray moving better, but Troicki still took the second set.

Troicki had a lead in the third set, but started getting a little edgy.  Murray was able to get a break ahead and go for his shots more with Troicki missing more and Murray took the third set.  With the sun setting and the light going away, Murray seemed to fare better, and got one break, then another.  Had the match continued, Murray would have had the psychological edge.

With the match resuming first on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the big question was how would Murray’s ankle fare?  Would he start off slow as he did the previous day?

His ankle and movement looked fine, but Murray decided that Troicki likes power and went back to his slicing strategy on both sides.  Credit Troicki for keeping in these points and not letting the low shots bother him.  He was able to get the shots back.  Murray, for his part, seemed nervous, and much like his earlier matches, seemed vulnerable to the drop shot.  Eric Prodon may not be remembered in the annals of tennis history as Murray’s first round opponent, but he must have noticed that Djokovic had luck drop-shotting Murray.  Who knew a great drop shotter would have trouble fetching drop shots?  Prodon was able to expose this, and Berrer used this to great effect–at least until Murray got hurt and then shelved the shot.

Troicki, who is more of a power hitter, has surprisingly good touch.  It was probably one of those myths from the 1970s that touch could not be taught.  You simply had to have it innately.  But today’s game shows that you can learn the drop shot.  And more importantly, you must learn the drop shot (unless your name is Robin Soderling who has excised almost every shot that isn’t hit 100 mph from his game).

At 2-1 down, on serve, there was a peculiar point early in the game.  Troicki found himself at the net, hitting an overhead.  It almost seemed like it would bounce over Murray’s head.  The ballboy near the chair umpire, Pascal Maria, came out to pick the ball just as Troicki hit another overhead that Murray had managed to throw back up high.

Maria had to call this shot a let.  The commentator thought this might be a good chance for Murray to be gentlemanly and give up the point.  But, no dice.  The pros generally play the point as is, although yesterday, Ferrer did call the a serve in (it caused a let serve, however) for Monfils.  McEnroe said this was the “right” call, but the “wrong” call, meaning that technically, Maria had to call a let, but that since Troicki was not hindered nor was Murray hindered, the point should have played on.

Troicki was stunned at this.  At some point, he wondered why a ballboy didn’t run out at a different point to help him.  The French audience booed.  The French Open has some of the youngest ballboys, and the boy seemed rattled by all this attention he wasn’t expecting.

But somehow Troicki managed the break as a nervous Murray was unable to avoid early errors.  This put Troicki at a 4-2 lead.  Troicki held for 5-2, then Murray had a pretty quick hold for 5-3, as Troicki was probably thinking he would just serve it out rather than try to get a break.

It seemed over for Murray, but the fifth set somehow became a microcosm of the four sets that proceeded it.  Troicki got out to a 30-0 lead, and Murray realized he needed to be more aggressive.  In the meanwhile, Troicki was starting to miss more too, feeling the match within his grasp.  Murray took the break when Troicki, who had been making great drop shots all day missed one into the net, and this tied the match at 5-all.  Troicki then played a few loose points and Murray had a second break.

Murray got out to a 40-0 lead, but Troicki brought it back to deuce.  Murray got the next point, but in a rally that had Troicki attacking Murray’s backhand and then approach the net, Murray hit the pass, meters behind the baseline that clipped just inside the service box, and the improbable journey, that started with a twisted ankle against Berrer, and ended with this pass, and Murray made the quarterfinals, a journey that should not have happened, but did.

In a post-match interview, Murray bristled at the idea that everything was “fine” with him, as if he were faking his injury (an accusation that was made of Fabio Fognini).  Murray showed he still had a sense of humor (or in his case, humour), that he had “more pills in him than Ozzy Osbourne”.

And now he has a day to recover to play the oldest player left in the tournament, Juan Ignacio Chela, who has fought through two five-setters to get to this point.

Final score: 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5