Andy Murray blamed a late finish on Wednesday for his third round defeat to Radek Stepanek.
Murray had never previously dropped a set against Stepanek and many were writing off the Czech after he lost the first set 6-1. However Murray took his foot off the gas and paid the penalty. Stepanek cleverly spotted the Scot’s sluggish footwork and began mixing in some clever dropshots, combined with quality serving and pulled away in the final two sets.
Murray blamed his lethargic performance on his second round win over James Blake which didn’t finish until 1.45 in the morning. Murray didn’t get back to the hotel after press conferences until nearly 4.
"I knew it was going to be difficult with only a limited recovery time," he said, "but winning six out of seven matches in Spain and here was just what I needed before London. You get a few niggles and tweaks after being out for some time, but by main goal was always to get into good enough shape for the O2, and my wrist is fine."
A neutral observer could have been forgiven for thinking that the top seeds were tanking such has been the lacklustre nature of some of the tennis. Unfortunately it’s a by-product of this tournament’s location, right at the end of the calendar. It’s left to those still scrapping for Masters Cup places to inject some excitement into the event.
It’s also a last chance of the year for French players to shine in front of a home crowd and Julien Benneteau was thrilled to do just that with his second round win over Roger Federer on centre court on Wednesday.
Benneteau’s words summed it up. "It's magic. It's fabulous. Everything you can imagine. All those words. This memory will stay forever in me and in my career with all the emotions I felt. And hearing the crowd when they are all behind you, the noise is enormous. I didn't believe it was possible to experience something like that,” he said.
"I don't remember any match in my career where I really used my mental resources and physical resources as much as in this match to stay focused, to stay in the present moment, to be aggressive. I needed to go and get that match. I shouldn't be happy with just waiting. I needed to be very precise and to be aggressive, and that is what made the difference."
