Murray back twinge send shivers down Britain’s spine

Andy Murray supporters in the Hisense Arena momentarily held their breath on Friday when the Briton stopped and sunk to his knees after being twisted the wrong way by a Florent Serra winner.

Published: Fri 22 Jan 2010, 3:48 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 8:58 AM

The 22-year-old, seeded five at the Australian Open, had immediately grasped at his lower back and his face wore an expression of anguished pain.

Calling for his towel, the Scot looked to be in danger of not continuing and the British public’s 74 year-wait for a men’s grand slam title seemed destined to be postponed until at least Roland Garros in Paris.

The world number four, however, recovered and went on to overcome the crafty Frenchman 7-5 6-1 6-4 and advance to the fourth round, where he will meet big-serving American John Isner.

More importantly, Murray said afterwards there was no problem with his back after the twinge.

“Sometimes it happens on these courts. They’re just really sticky. It just gets a little bit stiff. But it was fine,” Murray told reporters. Murray will need to be at his mobile best against Isner, who stands 2.06 metres tall, won the Auckland title in New Zealand last week and beat 12^th seed Gael Monfils on Friday. If Murray does manage to beat the gigantic American, a quarter-final showdown with Rafa Nadal could be in the offing.

Murray said after his win on Friday he was slowly building into the tournament with his serve, return and ability to win the big points, which he may need to improve his 2-7 record against Nadal.

“I’m happy to have won in three sets in all of the matches,” Murray said. “It’s important to have tight situations in matches like the first set today where it got quite close at points.

(But I) came through all the sort of tough moments in the match. “Everyone is panicking about my serve (but) I’m happy with how it’s gone. It’s got better in each match, like I thought it would.

“When the important moments have come, I’ve served well. That’s the most important thing.”