TENNIS: Andy Murray capitalises on Groth's arena inexperience
Groth took 43 minutes even to register a game against Murray, who strolled into the Australian Open third round with a 6-0 6-4 6-1 victory at Melbourne Park.
The result extends Murray’s unbeaten run against Australian players to 15 official matches and sets up a round three meeting with Joao Sousa, the 32nd seed from Portugal.
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Hide AdGroth, ranked 67th in the world, lives in Melbourne and was born in nearby Narrandera but the local favourite gave Murray a timely confidence boost before the match, when he revealed Australia’s most famous court would be a new experience for him.
Murray said: “I don’t know why, I was standing right next to him in the locker room and he said to someone, ‘this is my first time on Rod Laver, I’ve never even hit on here before’ and I was like, ‘OK great, that’s good for me’.”
The Scot continued: “Was I surprised he said it? A little bit. I mean, we were right next to each other in the locker room literally sitting a metre or so away.
“I think it was Mark Woodforde who asked him and he just said, ‘No, first time I’ve ever been out there. First time I even practised on it today.’
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Hide Ad“That surprised me. I thought he would have hit on it at least once or twice before.”
Groth boasts the fastest recorded serve in the world at 263 kilometres per hour and he announced ahead of the match he would go all-out attack against Murray with pace, power and serve and volley.
The strategy, however, proved disastrous as the world number two won 31 out of Groth’s 46 ventures to the net and broke his opponent’s serve seven times in total.
“I know he can serve better than that. He doesn’t just hit the sort of big serves. He can use different spins and stuff,” Murray said.
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Hide Ad“I think he actually is better from the back of the court than he thinks he is. I don’t think he maybe needs to serve and volley as much as he does, because, you know, from the back he hits the ball well too.”
Murray had never played Groth before in singles but he had faced him in a doubles match, when he played alongside brother Jamie in September’s Davis Cup semi-final.
“It helps to see someone’s game. I never hit with him or played against him at all, apart from that match in the Davis Cup,” Murray said.
“You see what he’s like up at the net maybe, which side he volleys better off, which side he returns better off. In doubles, I think you can often get a better idea of that than in singles.”
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Hide AdMurray now faces Sousa, whom he has played six times and won on each occasion.
“He’s a very good mover,” Murray said.
“He’s a good athlete and he wins. He knows how to win matches. He understands the game well and he gets the most out of his game.”