Mitchell beats Murray in thriller

By Nabil Hassan
BBC SPORT Mitchell (l) inflicted the only career defeat on Murray on Saturday Kevin Mitchell claimed the vacant WBO inter-continental lightweight title with a superb victory over the previously unbeaten John Murray.

Manchester's Murray seemed to shading the fight in the opening five rounds but a change in tactics swung the contest Mitchell's way.

Mitchell rocked Murray with a left in the seventh but the bell saved him.

But the 26-year-old finished the job a round later, flooring Murray before the fight was eventually stopped.

It was a sensational victory for the Dagenham fighter, who had been out of the ring for over a year following his third-round defeat to Michael Katsidis - his only career loss.

Mitchell admitted following that defeat that he had then lost his way, but this victory is proof that he is now back on track.

He made the better start to the fight and was the more accurate of the two fighters with his punches. In particular his left-hand uppercut had more snap than Murray's.

Mitchell again made a strong start to the second and looked in control of the round until a fierce right-hook from Murray rocked the challenger. It spurred Murray on and a further barrage on his opponent shaded the round in his favour.

Mitchell - sensing he was being dragged into a toe-to-toe brawl - started to move around the ring and box behind the jab, but Manchester's Murray eventually closed off the ring and caught up with him, catching his opponent with several fierce shots.

Murray, 26, continued to be the aggressor in the fourth round, landing more punches than his opponent but it was Mitchell who was landing the quality shots in what was becoming a fascinating contest.

The pace and volume of punches was starting to take its toll on Mitchell in the fifth as the fight started to swing firmly in Murray's favour. It was the best round of the fight for the Manchester man who seemed unconcerned by Mitchell's punches and whose pace was relentless throughout.

But Mitchell looked to have cleared his head in the sixth, with Murray reduced to short bursts, and he finally started to show his boxing ability and reverted to the 'box and run' game plan that served him so well against Breidis Prescott in 2009.

The Dagenham fighter continued to grow in confidence, throwing several accurate combinations in the seventh and a huge right hand, left-uppercut combination by Mitchell late in the round rocked Murray to the core and only the bell saved him from being knocked out.

Mitchell went after his man at the start of the eighth and despite a fierce left from the Manchester fighter a huge left sent Murray to the canvas.

Murray, who was shaky as he rose to his feet, was lucky to be able to continue but seconds later the fight was over as Mitchell sent in another combination that saw the contest stopped by the referee.

Earlier, Ricky Burns with a first-round victory against Nicky Cook who appeared to injure his back in trying to avoid a punch while Tony Bellew added the vacant British light-heavyweight title to his Commonwealth belt.

Bellew could be in line for a fight against WBO champion Nathan Cleverly having had to pull out of one contest against the Welshman after failing to make the weight having been brought in as a late replacement.

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Andy Murray column

By Andy Murray
British number one Murray crushes Gasquet to make quarter-finals (UK only)

Wimbledon, R4: Andy Murray beat Richard Gasquet 7-6 6-3 6-2

I'm heading into the final rounds at Wimbledon now and, like a heavyweight title fight, this is the time to step it up.

It was great to get through my fourth-round match so quickly against Richard Gasquet, I was expecting a tough one, but the first set was pretty crucial. Once I got ahead it was always going to be tough for him to come back in such hot conditions.

Things will only get more difficult from here on in though, and I need to be right on top of my game and my mind.

The mental side of the game is something that I've consciously tried to improve, and it also comes a little easier as you get older. The most important thing is to stay calm when you're in the crunch time of a match and being really tested physically and mentally.

I know I'll get pushed very hard before the end of this tournament, but it's a challenge that I'm looking forward to.

There's another Briton with a big day coming up this weekend and I'll certainly make sure I send David Haye a message before he fights Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night. I last spoke to him a few days ago and keep in regular contact, I find it really helpful for my game.

Obviously boxers are a bit different as they have to be larger than life to promote fights, whereas tennis players don't get a bigger pay cheque if more people watch their matches. Tennis is certainly a lot more gentlemanly than boxing, but in any individual sport the psychology plays a big part, especially right at the top level. You need to make sure you're strong in the mind.

In tennis, the guys are mostly very sporting and get on well, but when you're out there you need to put that to one side. I think you need to treat your opponent like they're your worst enemy on the court.

I know John McEnroe thinks we need a little more animosity between the top players and it's probably true. I think everyone would enjoy it a little more if the players were a bit more vocal about any dislike we might have for each other, but at the same time tennis is in a really good place right now.

Lethal Murray cross-court winners sink Gasquet (UK only)

When I was on my way back from the French Open on the train after I lost to Rafa in the semis, everyone was talking about tennis - our match and Federer v Djokovic - and not because they knew I was there, I was just listening in. I've never really experienced that before.

I suppose the last time that happened was in the era of McEnroe, Connors and Borg. I've seen plenty of clips of the aggro between Connors and McEnroe, and I heard some good stories about Lendl from my former coach Brad Gilbert, who had an 0-16 record against him. Unfortunately, due to the number of swear words, I can't repeat any of them here!

But it was a different sport back then and, while there were more examples of players arguing on court, at the same time more of them would go out for dinner together, even the night before they played each other. Nowadays we're probably not close in the same way, but I think everyone's generally a bit more friendly.

My quarter-final opponent, Feliciano Lopez, is a good example because we get on well, but maybe I should take a leaf out of David Haye's book and try a bit of trash talking beforehand.

It will also be interesting to see how my mum copes with me playing Feliciano - or 'Deliciano' as she keeps calling him. I haven't spoken to her about that yet but I'm pretty sure she'll be supporting me on Wednesday, I think.

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Andy Murray column

By Andy Murray
British number one Masterful Murray overcomes early wobbles (UK viewers only)

Wimbledon R1: Murray bt Gimeno-Traver 4-6 6-3 6-0 6-0

Indoor matches with late finishes are probably something I'm going to have to get used to at Wimbledon.

Monday was only the second time I'd ever played on an indoor grass-court and it's going to take a bit of time for everyone to get used to it, but the more we do, the more we'll understand how it plays.

In one sense it's much better, because having the roof across takes away any wind or sun and can make conditions pretty much perfect, but there's no doubt it changes things.

I have had some experience of that because when I played Roger Federer in the Australian Open final two years ago, the roof was closed right up until when we walked on to court. It can speed the court up on some days, but if it gets really humid like on Centre Court that can also slow things down.

It's certainly different to the outdoor grass-court tournament that everyone knows as Wimbledon, and it will be interesting to see how it affects the tournament in the future. If they have a long spell of bad weather they might try to use Centre to get through the matches, but I'm normally scheduled last on so there's always a good chance I will finish late.

Being on Centre Court is certainly a big help now because you know that, whatever the weather, you're going to get on, so you can prepare for your match knowing there won't be a lot of stopping and starting. There might be one stop but then you'll be on for the night, so all in all it definitely helps having the roof.

It certainly worked for me in my first match and I'm just glad that I'm through and into the next round, while whichever guy I play next will still be battling away on Tuesday after they came off in the third set because of the rain. I get the chance to rest a little on Tuesday and also watch a bit of Blaz Kavcic and Tobias Kamke when I come in to practise at the All England Club.

There are always things to work on but I was pleased with the way I was playing by the end against Daniel Gimeno-Traver; you have to be after winning 15 games in a row. I just had to try and stay as calm as possible because he was playing such great tennis at the start that I knew his level would have to drop a little bit.

There's a fine line in tennis between struggling and getting through. Sometimes you need to hang tough and the end isn't too far away. Once I managed to get that break, I settled down, served well, returned well and my whole game got better.

Laughing Murray bounces through

I took a lot of inspiration into the opening day at Wimbledon from watching Rory McIlroy win the US Open golf on Sunday, but I must admit I didn't make it past the 14th hole of his round because I had a match coming up, and I could see that he had it pretty much won by then.

I think it's great the way he dealt with everything after he'd obviously got nervous earlier in the year at the Masters. This time he was in the same position but had learnt from his experiences and handled everything very, very well. That's something any sportsmen could take a lesson from, although golf and tennis are very different sports because, in golf, you're always in control. Rory was certainly in total control on Sunday, it was incredible.

We haven't met but I've sent him a few messages on Twitter and it would be good to catch up some time - maybe for a golf lesson. I do play from time to time but haven't for about a year now because it's quite a strain on the back.

I played a bit when I was younger but, I must admit, I'm not great at golf. If you think I get frustrated on the tennis court, you should see me on a golf course.

It can be very trying if you're playing for four hours and just hacking away - I like playing in the States because you've got the buggies, so it's a bit quicker to get round! When I play three or four times in a row, I start to enjoy it more, but at first I don't really know how far I can hit each club and it goes all over the place - I'm sure that's a complaint many golfers have.

Sometimes I'll hit a seven-iron and it goes about 40 yards, the next day I'll play the same shot with a six-iron and it's way through the green - so frustrating. I'm sure I'll give it more of a go when I'm older, everyone does, but I think I'll stick to the tennis for now.

Visit www.andymurray.com for all the latest news on Andy

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Rain delays Murray Queen's final

Venue: Queen's Tennis Club, LondonDate: 6-12 JuneCoverage: Live coverage on BBC One from 1305, online (UK only) and BBC HD and text commentary (#bbctennis) on BBC Sport website; and commentary on Radio 5 live and sports extra Magnificent Murray romps past Roddick

The Aegon Championship final between British number one Andy Murray and French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Queen's has been held up by rain.

Mindful of a forecast of prolonged rain in W14 on Sunday afternoon, tournament directors brought the final start time forward from 1430 to 1200 BST.

Morning showers prevented an on-time start, but officials are still hopeful of play at some point on Sunday.

Should that not be possible, the final will be on Monday at 1230 BST.

"The good thing about the British is that we have a sense of humour when it comes to the weather," tournament director Chris Kermode told BBC One.

"We've been told that we have a window of opportunity to play later this afternoon and we will wait as long as we can. We intend to play today.

"We might not wait until a 1900 BST start, for example, out of respect for the players, but we'll delay it as long as we can. We're talking to the players at half-hourly intervals.

"If we don't get any play today, though, the final will be at 1230 BST on Monday and we're finalising contingency plans as we speak."

Murray is looking to regain the title he won two years ago and complete the perfect Wimbledon preparation when the final does get under way.

Tsonga, ranked 19th in the world, ended hopes of an unexpected all-British final with victory over James Ward on Saturday - but is likely to find Murray a far stiffer test.

The world number four was in scintillating form as he destroyed four-time champion Andy Roddick in the first of the semi-finals, and the Scot has won four of his five matches against Tsonga, among them a quarter-final victory at Wimbledon last year.

"I enjoy playing against him," said Murray. "He's a great athlete. He's similar in a few ways to Andy [Roddick].

"He's very flashy, a great shot-maker, can be a little bit erratic at times, but he's one of the best grass-court players in the world, for sure."

For his part, Tsonga is not worried about facing a Briton - and the home crowd - for the second day running.

Murray delighted with form

"I feel good because I know they like me," said the Frenchman. "They like my game. This is sports.

"Sometimes you play in a country, and you play against the countryman and the crowd is behind the other player. This is sports - I accept that. I will try to play my best tennis to win anyway."

Murray showed against Roddick that he is well and truly over the ankle injury that had troubled him since the middle of the French Open, and he now has the chance to win a first title since beating Roger Federer at the Shanghai Masters last October.

"It wasn't the priority coming into the tournament, it will be come Wimbledon," said Murray. "But winning in any sport is good, it gives you confidence. Winning titles is something that you look back on at the end of your career and remember."

Murray beat James Blake two years ago to become the first British winner at Queen's Club since 1938, and another success on Sunday will make him the first Briton since Arthur Lowe in 1914 to claim the tournament on two occasions.

Wimbledon, and a first Grand Slam title, remains the priority though, and his semi-final form was a timely boost.

"It gives me the message that I'm in a good place now," said Murray. "I'm playing well. I struggled at times this year, and I feel like now I'm playing really good tennis again. Physically I feel good, which is important.

"My game is where it needs to be right now. That's all you can ask for. Regardless of how the final goes, it's been the perfect week in many ways and I'll use the next five, six days to really work hard and get myself mentally and physically ready for Wimbledon."

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Majestic Nadal holds off Murray

By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Roland Garros Venue: Roland Garros, ParisDate: 3 JuneCoverage: Live on BBC TWO/Red Button/online (UK only) from 1300 BST & text commentary (#bbctennis) on BBC Sport website from 1100 BST; daily highlights programme on BBC Two; commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Nadal struggled to gain control before getting Murray increasingly on the run

Five-time champion Rafael Nadal proved too strong for Andy Murray as he battled past the Briton in straight sets to reach the French Open final.

The Spaniard, celebrating his 25th birthday, refused to be blown off course by the gusting wind as he sealed a 6-4 7-5 6-4 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier, and he now awaits the winner of the second semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Nadal might well have lost his grip on the world number one ranking by Sunday's final, with Djokovic poised to replace him next week should he win his semi-final, but he will still have the huge incentive of potentially matching Bjorn Borg's record six French Open titles.

For Murray, a best-ever run at Roland Garros ended with a defeat that was widely predicted against a man who has now won 44 matches, and lost only one, in seven trips to the French Open.

Britain's 75-year wait for a Grand Slam singles champion to follow Fred Perry goes on, and Paris always seemed the least likely venue for Murray to make the breakthrough, but he had his chances to extend Nadal further than the three sets they played.

Nadal once saved 16 of 17 break points against Federer in a Roland Garros final and his powers of recovery were similarly evident as he saw off 15 of 18 against Murray, while taking six of 13 earned.

After breaking for 2-1 with a forehand whipped down the line, the Spaniard then saw off four break-back chances in a gripping fourth game thanks in part to one stunning defensive backhand, as well as a slice of fortune when a mishit forehand dropped on the baseline.

The first four games had taken 28 minutes but it looked like the set would be over within another 10 when Nadal broke once again and moved 5-1 clear, only for the top seed to hand one of the breaks back with a surprisingly poor eighth game.

Murray has played his best tennis when behind this fortnight and he did so once again, winning two punishing rallies on set points for Nadal and looking ready to level at 5-5, but two more break points went begging when the Scot was caught out by some vicious topspin and a superb Nadal serve-volley.

The Spaniard took the set but Murray had let him know he was a real threat and the world number four was the first to make a move in the second, only for a huge gust of wind to disrupt him on break point of game two, before Nadal saved a second with a blistering forehand and a cry of "Vamos!"

When Murray played a disastrous game that included a double fault and a poor drop shot to slip 3-2 behind, there seemed to be an inevitability about where the match was heading, but incredibly Nadal gifted him the break back with a double fault for 3-3.

Two more breaks followed in quick succession, Nadal taking his chance with a quite brilliant rally of huge hitting and sharp angles before Murray levelled once again with a return right at the champion's toes.

A tie-break loomed large but Nadal had other ideas at 5-5, ignoring the sight of a spectator's hat blowing across the court to recover from 40-15 down and convert his third break point of the game with another spectacular off-forehand.

This time he did not let his opponent back into the set and, with dark clouds moving across the stadium court and the wind continuing to interject, a break at the start of the third proved enough, despite another six break points coming and going for Murray.

A time of three hours and 17 minutes for three sets spoke of a real contest, but for the 44th time at Roland Garros it was always Nadal who looked like prevailing.

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Murray advances into second round

By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Roland Garros Venue: Roland Garros, ParisDate: 22 May-5 JuneCoverage: Watch live on BBC Red Button/online (UK only) & text commentary (#bbctennis) on BBC Sport website from 1000 BST; daily highlights programme on BBC Two; updates & commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live/5 live sports extra Murray's serve helped to blow away the crowd favourite Prodon from Paris Andy Murray made it through the first round of the French Open in straight sets but it was not the most comfortable of starts for Britain's number one.

Murray, the fourth seed, beat French qualifier Eric Prodon 6-4 6-1 6-3 and will face Italian Simone Bolelli in round two on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Scot has suffered some surprising defeats this year and had been at pains before his opener at Roland Garros to avoid talk of a mismatch, but the formbook suggested otherwise.

Prodon was playing his first ever match in the main draw of a Grand Slam at the age of 29 and had never previously beaten a player inside the world's top 100.

And although he might have had the support of the home crowd, the scheduling did him no favours as the usually vibrant Court Suzanne Lenglen was hardly a cauldron at 1100 local time.

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He changed the rhythm and the pace of the ball a lot, so I was finding it tough and was annoyed with the way I was moving

Andy Murray

Still, it was the biggest match of Prodon's life and he at least made an impression, with Murray sure to remember the Frenchman's drop shot for some time to come.

Three in the opening game had Murray scrambling unsuccessfully, only for Prodon to miss a backhand on break point, but a huge forehand winner in the following game served notice that he knew his way around a clay court.

Murray was the class act, however, and when he broke for 3-1 after a couple of Prodon errors, the story of the match appeared to be in place.

This was one of those scratchy, irritable days for Murray though and when serving for the set he almost gave it away, a double fault handing Prodon two break-back points and the Frenchman converting the first with a brilliant drop shot.

Murray reacted immediately, stepping up the aggression on his return of serve to force a set point in game 10 and taking it when Prodon sent a backhand wide.

The second set was over within 25 minutes after Murray grabbed the first break in a lengthy game four, and with the winners starting to flow he looked ready to close out the match swiftly, but the frustrated outbursts and glances to his player's box continued.

He appeared to know before anyone else that there was another twist to come and two errors allowed Prodon to break for 3-1 in the second set, enlivening the now considerably fuller stadium.

But it was a final flourish for the world number 124 rather than the start of a fightback and, again, Murray went through the gears when necessary, reeling off five games in a row to secure a scoreline that looked a lot more straightforward than much of the action.

"It was a tough match," Murray said afterwards. "There was no rhythm really to the match. He didn't want to have any long rallies so he was hitting a lot of drop shots.

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It's a miracle that I finished the match and played three sets with nothing in my stomach since last night. Of course it is frustrating, I really wanted to play a real match against him

Eric Prodon

"He changed the rhythm and the pace of the ball a lot, so I was finding it tough and was annoyed with the way I was moving.

"I was hitting the ball well, especially towards the end of the match, and served well but there weren't any good rallies really because they were all pretty short.

"I was told going in he's very unpredictable. That's why it was a difficult match and just a quite frustrating one to play, because even though I was in front, all of the points were just really scrappy until the end when I went behind."

Asked specifically about the number of drop shots Prodon played, Murray admitted: "The way I was dealing with them, I would have kept hitting them too.

"I hardly won a point when he had a drop shot today. I was getting to most of them, just not really doing much with them, so I'll do some work on that tomorrow on the practice court."

Prodon consulted the doctor at various times during the match and revealed afterwards that, as well as struggling with ongoing abdominal pain, he was also suffering from suspected gastroenteritis.

The Frenchman stated: "It's a miracle that I finished the match and played three sets with nothing in my stomach since last night. Of course it is frustrating. He's a good player and I really wanted to play a real match against him.

"I succeeded sometimes to do a few good things. But it felt frustrating to not be able to deliver during this kind of match."

Prodon felt his unfamiliarity was an advantage at the start of the match but he conceded he could not find the consistency to exploit Murray's lapses.

"I felt he was a bit tense to begin with," he added. "Like any other big player, when they walk on court in the first round, it's never too easy. They need to find their landmarks, discover who the opponent is, because he didn't know me.

"But once he started finding his way around, he released his shots during the second set. Even in the third set I managed to gather some energy to try to destabilise him. But he came back into the match very quickly because I was not consistent enough."

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