| Tuesday, 24 June 2008 Written by Alix Ramsey Andy Murray made his long awaited return to The All England Club and celebrated with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Fabrice Santoro. After a two-year wait – he missed last year's tournament with a wrist injury – Murray is back in business and if his first-round performance was anything to go by, there will plenty more to watch as The Championships unfold. Santoro, the 35-year-old Frenchman, tested every part of Murray's game and every aspect got a clean bill of health. First-round matches are always slightly nervy affairs and no player wants to be at his absolute peak when he begins a Grand Slam fortnight. But so far everything appears to be in good working order and can only get better from here. It had been Santoro's dearest wish to play a singles match on Centre Court before he retired. So when the draw was made on Friday and his name came out of the hat alongside Murray, the Frenchman could not have been happier. "I have had a 19-year career," Santoro said before the match, "and I have played on every other court around the world apart from Wimbledon's Centre Court. "It's the temple of tennis. At Wimbledon they know their tennis and they love their tennis. People are waiting in the street for hours and hours to get in to watch. There is big respect for the players. There is big support for the British, but it will be fair. I know that people will be for Andy, but not against me." And so it proved. Murray arrived to cheers and applause but with an ill-advised retro beige holdall draped over one shoulder – beige is a difficult colour even for British heroes to carry off. But once he was warmed up and ready for action, Murray was decked out in pristine white. Even his trusty old ankle brace had been replaced with a new, clean and unblemished white support. As the big match of the day, the A-Team of Tim Henman and John McEnroe had been squeezed into the commentary box for the occasion. As it turned out, it did little for Murray's nerves – every time he looked up he saw his great friend and mentor alongside one of the legends of the game – and both of them were analysing his every move. Murray has often said that Santoro is the man he most likes to watch. Double fisted on both sides, the Frenchman caresses the ball and guides it to create impossible angles and infuriating spins. It is fascinating to watch and, for the first half of the first set, Murray found himself being entranced by Santoro's skills. Able to play almost any shot, Murray was drawn into long and complicated rallies in the first few games. Murray broke for a 2-1 lead only to drop his serve three games later and suddenly there was a sharp intake of breath on the famous old court. Only when Murray finally relaxed and started to put a little muscle behind his shots did he begin to stamp his authority on the match. He stands five inches taller than Santoro at 6' 3" and is 12 lbs heavier so it only seemed sensible to use the advantage. The extra power was enough to wrap up the first set but, even so, the drama was not over. Dropping his serve at the start of the second set – Santoro raised his fist in triumph as if he had won the set – the Scot had to wait patiently for another seven games for his chance to break back. From there, he nipped away to take a two-set lead but Santoro was not done yet. Standing toe to toe, drop shot to drop shot and lob to lob with the Scot, Santoro chased Murray all the way to the tie-break. Meanwhile, in the commentary box, Henman and McEnroe were pleading for the Scot to be more aggressive, more commanding and more powerful. Dunblane's favourite son, meanwhile, continued to use subtlety and finesse to win some of his points when a simple wallop of the ball might have achieved the same result. As Murray finally put himself in a position to get his nose in front in the middle of the tie-break, a very English voice could be heard saying through gritted teeth "hit it!". Murray did not hear Henman's advice and played yet another drop shot, almost got himself into trouble but got away with it. A mini-break up, he was on his way to the second round and an appointment with wild card Xavier Malisse.
| Centre Court - Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round | |
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