The record books may document Andy Murray’s third-round win over Andreas Seppi as a reasonably routine four-set victory, but for those who saw it the match will be remembered as The Curious Case Of The Third-Set Injury Timeout.
The 2013 champion was two sets up and strolling to a tranquil three-setter when Seppi called the trainer at 2-1 on serve in the third. The treatment administered to his right calf had a Lazarene effect, and the Italian No.25 seed reeled off the next four games and then broke Murray at the start of the fourth.
Cue horrified thoughts among the Centre Court faithful of the domestic hero’s absence from the quarter-finals for the first time in eight years, especially as the Scot was clutching his right shoulder and loudly pronouncing his own play “useless”.
Once again, the trainer was called, and – shazam! – as before the effect was transformative, this time in Murray’s favour. Seppi did not win another game, as the No.3 seed resumed his Saturday evening stroll to take the match 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in two hours and eight minutes. He will face the big-serving Ivo Karlovic for a place in the last eight.
The shoulder is fine. The trainer gave my back a few good cracks
“The shoulder is fine,” said Murray breezily as he came off court. “You could probably see towards the end of the second set it was starting to tighten up and it cooled down as he took his injury timeout. I struggled a little bit in the second set but I was playing very aggressively at the end and finished the match as I want to go on.” As for his own timeout, he remarked: “The trainer gave my back a few good cracks. A 90-kilo guy lying on top of you is not that pleasant, but it helps.”
Even Seppi acknowledged the physio’s miraculous powers after the match, smiling: “If he touches you, you can’t lose any more.”
The last time Seppi gained so much as a set from Murray was nine years ago when the Scot was a callow youth of 19. The Italian won that one but had drawn a blank in six subsequent meetings before this – although peculiarly he retained no memory at all of that win on the Nottingham grass. But at 31, the former world No.13 is still a player to be reckoned with, having knocked Roger Federer out of this year’s Australian Open at the same stage.
Yet he didn’t look like a contender when he was broken first game. Murray’s movement was brilliant and got better, breaking to love again for 5-2 as Seppi’s errors mounted. The Italian needed something to change in a big way at the start of the second. His problem was that all facets of Murray’s game were functioning so well that there was no weak thread to pull at in the hope that the rest might unravel. All that happened was that Seppi was broken again. He began swinging at the ball better but, just as matters were improving, he put a simple forehand wide for break point, and then double-faulted. Minutes later Murray took the set with an ace.
Seppi was showing no sign of discomfort but with the third set on serve at 2-1 the trainer arrived at his chair for an injury timeout, during which the Italian’s right calf and ankle were massaged. The effect was little short of dazzling, as he tore through the next five games – aided by a rash of untimely double-faults from his opponent – to grab the third set and open the fourth with a break. Murray was bewilderment personified, holding his right shoulder and looking disgusted with himself. Suddenly the fact that Seppi has come back to win from two sets down on four occasions took on a new relevance.
Murray decided it was his turn to call the trainer, who subjected him to some grim-looking manipulation. But the pain was worth the gain, as the match turned on its head again. Seppi barely got a look in as Murray took six games on the bounce, closing out the win with an ace as if there had never been a problem.
Three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe had his own view on Seppi’s injury timeout, saying: “He was desperate for some momentum change. It gave him an opportunity to slow things down, like the old bathroom break.” Seppi rebutted any implication of anything other than legitimate injury, saying: “The ankle a little bit was hurting. And I felt like all the muscle was pretty tight getting up to the knee. So I asked for the physio.”
Murray was clear he did not doubt Seppi was injured: “Andreas isn’t like that. I could have done a better job of dealing with the psychological part [after the resumption] by not getting frustrated when I got broken, and because my body cooled down, slowing down my serve and I served two double-faults. It can be frustrating because you stop for four or five minutes while the injury is assessed and then they have the [officially permitted treatment period of] three minutes.
“Medical timeouts do often break up the rhythm of matches, just like toilet breaks when players are gone for 10 or 15 minutes. Your heart rate slows down, you cool down. The first six or seven points when you get up after a timeout aren’t easy. It can help the one who asked for the break, yes – relieve pressure because there’s an excuse if things don’t go your way.”
As for that shoulder, Murray said it’s been stiff for several days, requiring manipulation after every practice. But it’s “not of major concern”. A nation breathes again.
