Australian Open: Andy Murray v João Sousa - as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2015/jan/23/australian-open-andy-murray-joao-sousa-live

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5.53pm AEST06:53

The postmortem

“It was a good match,” says Murray, who says his body is feeling good. “If you can conserve as much energy as possible it’s always good.” This one stretched beyond two hours in the end but the Scot was clinical in the first two sets, both of which he won 6-1.

“I play Dimitrov, which I think should be a good match,” says Murray of his 4th Round encounter. “It should be a fun match,” he adds, the liar. Then with the customary signature on the camera lens (why do we persist with this nonsense?) he’s grabbing his bags and heading down the tunnel.

Some stats: Murray fired down 9 aces while Sousa couldn’t crack a single one and the Scot won the winners count 39-17, which would be no real surprise if you’d seen the brutal way he handled his opponent in the first two sets.A 55% first serve figure isn’t great, but he’s in some red hot form at the moment and should go deep this year.

That’s all from me for now but make sure you drop by for all the other live coverage from Day 5 of this 2015 Australian Open.

5.46pm AEST06:46

Murray breaks to take the third set and the match - 6-1, 6-1, 7-5

Third set: Murray 7-5 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

There’s another cathartic smash for Murray to start this Sousa service game but the outmatched Sousa hangs tough to level it at 15-15 before a heart-breaking end to a rally he should have won opens the dorr for the Scot. Again Sousa composes himself and ties it at 30-30 with a big forehand winner across court but he can’t take a trick today and an awkward bounce means he’s coughed up a match point.

The match ends in quite farcical scenes when Sousa sends a lob long but then challenges the line call, meaning he and Murray conference at the net before Sousa finally concedes defeat.

It’s a shame it ended that way, actually. Murray was sensational at times in the opening two sets and has now booked himself a place in the 4th Round.

5.39pm AEST06:39

Third set: Murray 6-5 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Murray’s probably kicking himself that this has dragged on in the third set and accordingly he serves with real venom to set up a 40-0 buffer before advancing to the net and caning the absolute bejeezus out of an overhead smash at the net.

5.37pm AEST06:37

Third set: *Murray 5-5 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

With the sun mostly out of the way, Murray ditches his cap now. Perhaps isn’t doesn’t add aerodynamic qualities to the screaming backhand winner he fires past Sousa but it’s a theory I’ll still put out there all the same. Sousa double-faults and then nets a forehand to fall in a hole again and that means Murray has two match points.

Sousa saves one with a well-constructed chip and charge and then Murray forfeits the other when he runs into the only slither of sun out there and misses his forehand winner. Worse still in Murray’s eyes is a forehand error to cough up the advantage, after which he angrily mutters to himself. There’s a fierce to and fro from which Sousa prevails and then sends a celebratory first pump in the direction of his coach. He’s fighting admirably here as we approach the two-hour mark.

5.29pm AEST06:29

Third set: Murray 5-4 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Murray settles well here on serve to halt the Sousa momentum, moving to 40-0 with minimal fuss before righting another little wobble. The Scot finishes it off with a colossal double-handed backhand down the line and can end it completely if he breaks the Sousa serve next up.

5.25pm AEST06:25

Third set: Murray* 4-4 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Sousa’s got his tail up now and when an early line call goes against him he launches an appeal and wins it. A point later he’s at it again but this time loses out so the score is tied at 15-15. Sousa is a man possessed now and moves to 40-15 after flashing a forehand past Murray as he advances to the net. Murray sends a forehand long and Sousa holds.

Reader Robert Wilson has a theory. “I hesitate to bring it up and I am not trying to be difficult or anything...but, the superb dominance of this match, the whole sportsman at the zenith of his potential thing...has it not made Murray look even a little ...ahem...cheerier?”

Surely you jest? Would we even want him to be cheery? I reckon that would just look a bit scary, like a clown carrying an AK-47.

5.19pm AEST06:19

Third set: Murray 4-3 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

The Murray Machine keeps grinding away with total efficiency, moving the Scot to 30-0 before a Sousa error hands him two game points and prompts the Portuguese struggler into some kind of pleas for divine intervention. Surely there’s no God who could beat Murray while he’s playing like this, not even on clay.

Right as I’m getting stuck into that hyperbole, Murray’s serve falters a little and he gives Sousa an opening. The latter claims a break point with admirable tenacity and hustle. Out of nowhere he breaks back and Murray is absolutely livid with that development. He’s nothing if not a perfectionist.

5.13pm AEST06:13

Third set: Murray* 4-2 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Sousa enjoys a rare chance to taunt his bully here, out-positioning Murray at the net and almost teasing him as he gently pats a winner into the open court. Soon he’s up 40-0 and Murray is wearing the expression of a man who’s just been shat on by a bird as he notices that his tyres have been slashed. It’s okay Andy, I think you’re going to get there buddy. Sousa holds.

5.10pm AEST06:10

Third set: Murray 4-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Even when Murray tries to gift Sousa a point here at the net he can’t claim the advantage, netting at point blank range. Murray aces to bring up three game points and the serve is another bullet that pushes him out to a 4-1 lead and the possibility of a very early finish. He’ll be back to his hotel in time for Neighbours.

5.08pm AEST06:08

Third set: Murray* 3-1 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Another incredible part of this display by Murray is that the match will potentially end inside 90 minutes and yet Sousa looks like he’s gone 12 rounds with a heavyweight. Murray thumps away on return to earn himself two break points but his opponent at least gets an opportunity to unleash his frustrations on a full-blooded overhead smash. That matters not to the Scot, who blazes a backhand winner across court to break again. This is almost cruel.

5.05pm AEST06:05

Third set: Murray 2-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

Murray’s forehand is like a sledgehammer at the moment and he bludgeons it to the point of a love service game now, at the end of which Sousa is doing well just to lay racquet on ball.

5.01pm AEST06:01

Third set: Murray* 1-1 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

This can’t be much fun for Joao Sousa at the moment. Murray could pull his foot back off the gas a little and still comfortably win this but instead he’s almost making a statement here, chasing down everything with rabid enthusiasm and firing winner after winner past his hapless opponent.

The only annoyance here for Murray is that he clips the net with a passing shot that would have earned him the early break and then sends a backhand wide on the next point. He berates himself again, furious that his domination is not absolute. “He’s a pretty big deal in Portugal,” says one of the Seven commentary team channeling Ron Burgandy. He hasn’t been a big deal in this match but he does hold serve here to avoid the dreaded bagel.

4.55pm AEST05:55

Third set: Murray 1-0 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

It’s a sign of Andy Murray’s total control of this encounter that his only frustration at the start of this third set is when a bunch of fans behind the head of his opponent take too long to find their way to seats upon the resumption of play. Murray stares them out ominously and with a perplexed shake of the head before racing to a 40-15 buffer and then cracking an ace to hold serve.

4.50pm AEST05:50

Murray takes the second set 6-1

Second set: Murray* 6-1 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 2 sets to love

There’s not a second of respite for Sousa, even on serve. Murray attacks the second serve again but his opponent hangs tough to set up a 30-0 lead. That’s soon 30-30 after a Sousa error and a forehand winner from Murray that almost qualifies as gentle compared to some of the bombastic hitting we’ve seen at other points of this second set.

Sousa nets to hand the Scot a break and set point but then fouls at the net when he’s enthusiastically chasing down a drop shot. No matter, Murray works his opponent over again and draws a short forehand to be dispatched at mid-court before claiming the set on the back of another Sousa error.

Is it too early to start discussing Murray’s chances of taking out this tournament? He’s looking magnificent right now.

4.44pm AEST05:44

Second set: Murray 5-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 1 set to love

Sousa and the trainer seem to be happy with the progress of that knee complain but upon the resumption of play on Murray’s serve, there’s no improvement from his on-court struggles. Murray tests his legs out fully by pushing him from side to side and then sets up a couple of game points with a big forehand before nailing an ace down the line. This is a clinic at the moment.

4.40pm AEST05:40

Joao Sousa has taken an injury break

And you can hardly blame him. He’s almost being assaulted here by Andy Murray’s bombs. The trainer looks to be attending to a knee injury, which is the last thing the Portuguese player needs with the odds already against him.

4.36pm AEST05:36

Second set: Murray* 4-1 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 1 set to love

There’s plenty of grunting going on out there but if Sousa is matching Murray for volume he can’t quite replicate his moves and it’s merely Murray errors that establish his 30-15 advantage on serve. Murray’s absolutely launching himself into some of his groundstrokes, swiveling freely as he belts his forehand in what could be a quite ominous sign in this men’s draw. He forces the break point and then just brutalizes Sousa into conceding it. This is just fierce, unrelenting power from the number six seed. Wow.

4.32pm AEST05:32

Second set: Murray 3-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 1 set to love

Andy Murray is just bossing Joao Sousa around at the moment. Now it’s the lob he’s using to wrong-foot his opponent and he moves to a 40-0 lead in no time with a simple forehand smash at the net. Murray’s blistering forehand forces an error from Sousa and the Scot holds again.

4.30pm AEST05:30

Second set: Murray* 2-1 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 1 set to love

Murray dismissively advances towards Sousa’s second serves here but his attempts to unsettle his opponent don’t always pay off and after conceding two points when he’d been in control of the rally, Murray is barking away at himself again. Sousa has three chances to hold but fluffs all of them and at deuce Murray produces perhaps the shot of the match, an audacious cross-court slap on the return that fizzes past Sousa on the forehand.

With the break point, the Scot attempts a big winner down the line but sends it inches wide and heads off to the sidelines to regroup and mop his brow. An almost casual double-handed backhand winner down the line by Murray has it back at deuce but Sousa sticks to his strengths to launch a forehand winner of his own.

“C’mon” yells Murray as he breaks again to take a 2-1 lead in this second set. Meanwhile, Roger Federer has dropped his opening two sets to Andreas Seppi. Boilover alert!

4.19pm AEST05:19

Second set: Murray 1-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 1 set to love

The Melbourne sun is really beating down on this pair now but the underdog Sousa is not entirely wilting. He nearly takes the net-bound Scot’s racquet out of his hand with a big forehand but cancels out his gains with unforced errors. Sousa then charges himself but hoping for forehand volley at the net he gets yorked. Murray needs only one of two chances to hold.

4.15pm AEST05:15

Second set: Murray* 0-1 Sousa (*denotes next server) - Murray leads 1 set to love

Sousa switches to a lime green shirt now - a similar hue as worn by his opponent - but it doesn’t translate into any Murray-like performance to start with and he’s quickly down 0-30 on serve. Sousa recovers well to hold serve and give hope that this might be a little more competitive in the second set.

4.11pm AEST05:11

Murray takes the first set 6-1

First set: Murray 6-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server)

Sousa wears a neutral expression at the moment and if you were to go by the body language on display, you’d have Murray 5-1 down the way he’s muttering at himself in frustration. Still, he progresses to 30-15 on serve before offering an absolute lollipop of a lob to Sousa at the net, which the latter gratefully smashes across court to level the game.

Murray’s exasperated with his inability to consistently execute his first serve but brings up a set point after Sousa nets his forehand. Sousa’s belting the cover off his forehand but Murray moves him around expertly and incrementally to create an opening to close out the set. Sousa hasn’t even been particularly bad today but he’s getting thumped.

4.05pm AEST05:05

First set: Murray* 5-1 Sousa (*denotes next server)

Joao Sousa clearly missed the memo that ‘road-worker fluro’ is the dress-up theme of this tournament but he confidently negotiates his way to 30-15 before Murray whips a viciously-curving cross-court forehand winner out of his reach and then another that takes Sousa’s frame. That sets up the double-break, which Sousa ensures with an artless slog wide on the forehand. This one is slipping away very quickly.

4.01pm AEST05:01

First set: Murray 4-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server)

Murray’s finding his range now but screams in frustration when his easy volley put-away at the net crunches into the net to level it at 15-15 before mist-timing a big forehand for the same result. Murray aces wide to the backhand to make it 30-30 and sets up game point by rolling his wrists over a lovely cross-court winner on the forehand.

Sousa attacks the net and gets the result he’s hoping for to make it deuce but he can’t handle the velocity of the Murray backhand when he tries to volley at the net and squanders the advantage. Murray holds with another heavy serve to the backhand and remains in total command at the moment.

3.55pm AEST04:55

First set: Murray* 3-1 Sousa (*denotes next server)

Sousa is looking confident and calm here, especially on the forehand. At 15-15 he engages in a little chip-and-charge before moving back to a Murray lob and launching an overhead smash down the line. Murray ties it up at 30-30 with some brute power of his own across court and then a big backhand down the line to claim his first break point.

A rally ensues and in his haste to chase down a wide Murray forehand, Sousa lobs one up a little too juicily and allows the Scot to crack a cross-court backhand for the winner and the break.

3.49pm AEST04:49

First set: Murray 2-1 Sousa* (*denotes next server)

Murray wrong-foots his opponent here but he also has himself in knots as he advances to the net, allowing Sousa to chip past him into the open court for a winner. Murray constructs a handsome pair of points to make it 30-15 but then fires down a double fault to give Sousa a slight opening. He takes it, clattering a big forehand winner down the line on the return to set up break point.

Murray saves with a big first serve and then takes advantage of Sousa’s haphazard positioning at the net to claim the advantage but double faults again to the mild concern of Amelie Mauresmo at the court’s edge. His serving goes from the sublime to ridiculous - a string of faults followed by a pair of contrasting aces to hold.

3.43pm AEST04:43

First set: *Murray 1-1 Sousa (*denotes next server)

We get our first look at the Sousa serve and it’s a little shaky to start with Murray bunts a trio of unforced errors into the net to make it 40-0 in quick time. Sousa concedes only the one point to confidently hold serve and get himself on the board early.

3.40pm AEST04:40

First set: Murray 1-0 Sousa* (*denotes next server)

Murray serves first up and gets on the board immediately when Sousa bashes his forehand return long, but Sousa strikes back by walloping a tremendous forehand return across court to level it at 15-15. Murray’s not exactly nailing his firsts serve until 30-15, whereupon he holds with a pair of absolute belters down the line.

3.34pm AEST04:34

Some reading before we begin

While we wait for this pair to warm up, here’s Kevin Mitchell on ‘Twirlgate’ and also on the progress on No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic.

I had a little bit of a go at assessing the Nick Kygrios situation, but don’t feel obliged or anything. We’re two minutes from the opening serve here in Melbourne.

Updated at 3.37pm AEST

3.30pm AEST04:30

Good afternoon all and welcome to this 3rd Round clash between your 6th seed, Andy Murray, and Portuguese hope Joao Sousa. Russell Jackson here to take you through this encounter, one I have prepared for by partaking in Portugal’s finest export to Australia - Nando’s. Sweet, spicy Nando’s.

Who is Sousa? What is he about? Well, the world no. 55 - who is just entering Hisense Arena now to muted applause - has never gone further than this in a Slam and in 3 meetings with Murray, has yet to register a win. Nor take a set, for the sake of total accuracy. Put simply, he’s up against it today.

We’ll be under way in Melbourne in just a few moments.

3.26pm AEST04:26

Andy Murray steps back onto the familiar blue courts of Melbourne Park with a third-round encounter against the Portuguese Joao Sousa. Russell Jackson will be on hand to guide you through proceedings on Hisense Arena, but while we wait for the first ball toss, why not read what Serena Williams has to say on the hot topic of the Australian Open at the moment: twirling.

A commentator asked me to twirl. I wouldn’t ask Rafa or Roger to twirl. Whether it’s sexist or not, I don’t know. I can’t answer that. I didn’t really want to twirl because I was just like, you know, I don’t need all the extra attention. But, yeah, it was fine

Read the full story here.