Britain's Andy Murray silences grunting Carlos Berlocq
Date published :
14 Mar 2013 - 12:13:28
US Open champion Andy Murray, irked by Carlos Berlocq's noisy grunting, got the last word on Wednesday with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory over the Argentine.
Murray, ranked No. 3 in the world, booked a quarter-final berth at Indian Wells, the first ATP Masters event of the year and his first tournament since falling in the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic.
The match turned testy in the first set, after Berlocq complained that Murray was taking too long between points and Murray countered that his grunting was a form of gamesmanship.
"When you're doing it that loud, but you aren't doing that on every single shot, there is obviously a reason for why you're grunting like that," Murray said.
"To go from nothing to the loudest grunt you can do, it makes no sense," Murray said.
The Scot is off to a strong start in 2013, building on his US Open and Olympic gold medal-winning performances last year.
He won the title in Brisbane before reaching the final of the Aussie Open.
However, Murray twice trailed by a service break in the first set against Berlocq, who served for the set at 5-4.
Murray clawed back and pocketed the set in the tiebreaker.
He couldn't hold on to an early break in the second, but gained the decisive break in the seventh game and held on for the win.
"It was tough," Murray said. "He started well and he was playing very aggressive. He had a lot of chances in the first set.
"The second set was kind of the other way around. I had a lot of chances, but it was still tight."
Murray, 25, next faces seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, who breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Germany's Tommy Haas.
"I'm going to need to play a lot better than I did tonight if I want to win that match," Murray said.
