Late show for Murray

Andy Murray went through to the fourth round of Wimbledon after seeing off Marcos Baghdatis 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-1 in last nights thriller on Centre Court.

The match finished at 11:03pm as the British fourth seed won 10 of the last 12 games against the unseeded Cypriot.

Baghdatis had looked on course to at least take the three-time semi-finalist to a fifth set after leading 4-2 in the third.

Had it gone to five sets the match would have had to be finished on Monday since play on Centre Court must finish at 11pm.

But Murray uppped his game just when it mattered to race through the fourth set and set up a last 16 meeting against Croatia’s Marin Cilic on Monday.

With the roof open at the start of the match, Murray was playing within himself in tricky breezy conditions, and he often found himself on the back foot in rallies.

The Scot took a tumble in the seventh game and seemed to be feeling his right shoulder, and he had more problems when Baghdatis brought up two break points.

But Murray saved both, one with the coolest of drop shots and the second with a running forehand pass that was initially called out but HawkEye showed to be in.

Murray’s chance arrived in the 11th game, and he took his second break point when Baghdatis pushed a forehand wide.

The Scot then served out a cagey set with an ace after exactly one hour.

The pair had shared their six previous meetings but Murray had won three of the last four, including both since Baghdatis began working with Maclagan.

Murray moved ahead in the second set with a break in the third game, taking his third chance when Baghdatis netted a volley.

Murray was trying to lure his opponent into mistakes in long, tactical rallies, and for the most part it was working, but, not helped by another fall, he was broken straight back, serving a double fault on break point.

The Scot looked set to make it three breaks in a row but six times Baghdatis saved break point, the flamboyant Cypriot revelling in the crowd’s appreciation of the cat-and-mouse exchanges.

It was Baghdatis with the momentum, and he made it three games in a row with a forehand down the line that was too hot for Murray to handle.

The Scot was slipping and sliding and clearly not happy, and, with the light fading, it was Baghdatis who served out the set 6-3 to level the match.

The players were then called off court at the end of the set, at 9.04pm to allow time for the roof to be closed, with the match to continue under lights. Play resumed at 9.40pm.

Murray had strapping on his left knee, presumably as a result of one of his numerous falls.

But the Scot came out with a positive attitude and began the third set by serving three aces in the first game.

The indoor conditions had changed the match and Murray was hitting with much greater freedom. He brought up two break points in the fourth game, celebrating with a fist pump to the delight of the noisy crowd, but he could not take either.

Baghdatis, who took a set off Novak Djokovic at the same stage last year, took heart and promptly brought up three break points of his own, and, unlike his opponent, he took one, powering a winner onto the line.

The Cypriot had hit a real purple patch, but Murray dug deep to hold his serve and then, despite yet another fall, broke back when Baghdatis netted a rather tame forehand.

The tension was extremely high, and it ramped up even more when Murray faced another break point after being penalised for a ball popping out of his pocket for the third time in the match.

But his serve saved him, the Scot letting out a great roar and then an even bigger one when he finally nailed a backhand pass down the line to clinch the set 7-5.

Baghdatis folded wretchedly in the fourth set, which began at 10.36pm, and the winning moment came when he lobbed a forehand well over the baseline.