“I’m not well!”
Some time between the end of the first set and the start of the second, Nicolas Almagro called for a trainer. His shoulder, which had been giving him problems, perhaps due to the sheer amount of tennis he plays had flared up. Suddenly, it was Federer vs. Malisse, part 2. Except, in this case, Almagro wasn’t able to flummox Murray as Federer did with the ponytailed Belgian.
Despite a cheer by the crown to urge the Spaniard on, he was not well, and neither was his game.
The first set, by far, the more competitive of the two, featured Almagro taking big swipes at the ball, and Murray playing big off his serve. The slow start that hampered Murray in his match against Baghdatis was replaced by a more efficient Murray. Murray took a late break in the first set off some great hitting that put Almagro in a hole.
The second set was Almagro trying to maintain some dignity by finishing a match even though he knew his shoulder was preventing him from playing his best.
And, thus, a 64 61 win.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had no answers to the top-ranked Serb who desperately wants to add gold to his list of wins. Novak Djokovic ran off with the first set, 61. In the second, Tsonga secured a break, but gave it right back. The two stayed even until late when Djokovic got another break and took the match 75.
Kei Nishikori is down 64 31 to the Tower from Tandil, Juan Martin del Potro. del Potro has been sneaking his way through the draw, and looks likely to be Federer’s next opponent, if Fed gets past Isner. Federer is trying to serve out the first set against Isner who upset Ferrer yesterday.