A woman in the crowd knitted away her nerves working on a crimson-colored quilt, an All England Club official stood behind the baseline casting measured glances at the clock, and Centre Court fans sprang from their seats in a spontaneous version of the wave beneath the closed translucent roof.
Welcome to Saturday night ride at Wimbledon.
This engaging third-round clash between Andy Murray and Marcos Baghdatis picked up dramatic pace thanks to an interactive race against time—Wimbledon's 11 p.m. curfew. Ultimately, Murray beat both Baghdatis and the clock (with a little help) to reach the fourth round for the sixth straight time with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 decision.
The fourth-seeded Scot made some night magic at SW19 again in an atmosphere reminiscent of his 2009 five-set victory over Stanislas Wawrinka. Baghdatis, who works with Murray's former coach Miles Maclagan, came out in attack mode. A bold shotmaker who is at his best camping out on the baseline and cracking flat shots, Baghdatis took the match to Murray at times, winning 48 of 80 trips to net and showing some resilience on serve, squirming out of 17 of the 23 break points he faced.
Content to counter-punch at the outset, Murray saved a pair of break points to hold for 4-4, broke for 6-5 when a retreating Baghdatis shoveled a forehand drop shot wide, and closed out the opening set with an ace out wide and an emphatic "Come on!" Murray seemed in control up a break at 2-1 in the second set, but double faulted to hand the break back, and Baghdatis exploited it. The streaky Cypriot fought off six break points in a 16-point fifth game to hold for 3-2, sparking a run that saw him stretch Murray repeatedly in sprints behind the baseline in winning four of the next five games to collect the second set and level the match.
After about a 36-minute break to close the retractable roof over Centre Court, play resumed with Murray, seemingly emboldened by the indoor conditions, slamming three aces to open the third set. Baghdatis, who had success taking the ball early and redirecting it up the line, snapped off a backhand winner up the line to break for 3-2. When he's really into it, the former Australian Open finalist plays with an almost mischievious grin plastered across his face; the beauty of Baghdatis is he has both the imagination and immaculate ball striking skills to make the improbable possible. The flip side is he doesn't always let logic, or the score, restrain pursuits of whimsy. The Bag Man brain cramped dumping a drop shot to hand Murray the break back at 4-4.
Picking up the pace of his drives, Murray claimed five of the final six games in winning the 54-minute third set. As the fourth began, the court-side clock ticked and the prospect of pushing completion to the second week loomed. Baghdatis cooperated with a festive crowd's desire for a finish, double faulting to fall behind 2-0 in the fourth. Murray held for 4-1 with less than 10 minutes before curfew kicked in and closed with an ace shortly after 11 p.m., providing British fans with a stress-free Sunday before Manic Monday arrives.
—Richard Pagliaro