Murray through as Tipsarevic pulls out

Andy Murray secured his place in the fourth round of the French Open for the first time in his career after Janko Tipsarevic pulled out injured when trailing 6-7(3) 3-6. Murray was on course for victory but will be pleased not to have needed to dip into his energy reserves against an opponent who had made life difficult for him, particularly in the first set. The Serb had led 5-2 in the opener, with two breaks of serve, but the British No3 seed stepped up a gear and hauled himself back into the set. Murray forced a tie-break after forcing Tipsarevic into a series of errors. He then put together a fabulous return of serve, passing shot combination on set point to win the deciding game 7-3. The Scot then broke the man ranked No65 in the world in the first game of the second set, and at that point Tipsarevic called for the physio. The courtside massage seemed to do the trick when he immediately broke back, but that proved to be a false dawn for the Serb as Murray took control, finding more regularity on his first serve, and manoeuvring his opponent around the court with ease. Murray broke him at 3-2 and then again at 5-3 to move into a two set lead. Tipsarevic had evidently lost his early-match verve but it was still a surprise when he decided not to carry on. Murray was not complaining though, and with a clenched fist, he celebrated this significant milestone in his career. He now faces the big-serving No13 seed Marin Cilic and, providing he gets his eye in on return of serve, surely stands a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals, where a matchup with either Fernando Gonzalez or Victor Hanescu awaits.