Andy Murray was involved in a furious row with Queen’s Club officials after the defending champion’s third-round clash with Mardy Fish was suspended on Thursday with the match on a knife-edge.
With night drawing in at the pre-Wimbledon warm-up event, Murray looked on course for a gritty victory as he fought back from 3-0 down to level the final set.
The momentum was with the world No. 4 but, with the time approaching 8:30pm, Fish walked over to umpire Cedric Mourier to insist it was too dark to carry on.
PHOTO: EPA
After a brief conversation, the American made his way off the court without a word to Murray, who stood open-mouthed at the baseline.
Murray then stalked towards Mourier and engaged in a lengthy diatribe.
Supervisor Tom Barnes was called onto court and the Scot continued his complaint but it was to no avail as the match was postponed until yesterday.
“Mardy says he doesn’t want to play so we stopped playing. The referee didn’t consult anyone,” Murray said. “He was happy to play at 3-1. The only reason he wanted to stop was because it was 3-3. This is absolutely ridiculous.”
Murray’s blast was the final moment of drama on a remarkable day of shocks in west London.
Rafael Nadal edged into the last eight, but four-time winner Andy Roddick and second seed Novak Djokovic crashed out.
French Open champion Nadal had things his own way throughout the claycourt season, but the world No. 1, who had to call for an injury time-out at one set all, was pushed to the wire in a gruelling 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4 third-round win over Denis Istomin.
Nadal was quick to play down concern over his injury and said: “I’m feeling very good. I just felt something behind the leg and I wanted to check with the physio if it’s something dangerous or not.”
“It wasn’t an easy match for me. The day was difficult too, with a lot of wind,” he said.
Israel’s Dudi Sela beat world No. 7 Roddick 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) and world No. 3 Djokovic was ousted 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 by Belgium’s Xavier Malisse.
Marin Cilic, the Croatian fifth seed, also went down 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 against Michael Llodra.
A rain delay at 4-4 didn’t help Nadal’s rhythm and the Spaniard had to strain every sinew to finally subdue his resilient opponent in the first-set tie-break.
Istomin, ranked 72nd in the world, had no intention of surrendering and he shocked Nadal by breaking and then taking the second set.
It was the first time Nadal had dropped a set for 10 matches, a run stretching back to the Madrid semi-finals against compatriot Nicolas Almagro.
Nadal called for treatment on the right side of his lower torso before the start of the final set and, although he resumed, the 24-year-old never looked completely at ease.
However, on his third attempt, Nadal was finally able to convert a match point to set up a last-eight tie with his close friend Feliciano Lopez, who defeated Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-4.
Roddick, 27, reigned supreme at Queen’s for much of the last decade, but he was beaten for only the fifth time in 34 matches in west London by the inspired Sela.
The Israeli took the first set after an early break and, although Roddick held serve more convincingly in the second set, his failure to mount any concerted threat to Sela’s serve meant a tie-break was inevitable.
Sela clinched one of the best wins of his career with a superb diving volley and said: “Before last year I didn’t like the grass. Now I’ve tried it and I’m loving it.”
“My hope is to go as far as I can in the tournament. Every round that I’m winning, it’s a bonus for me,” he said.
Sela will now face Germany’s Rainer Schuettler, who had a walkover into the last eight after 11th seed Richard Gasquet withdrew due to a back injury.
Djokovic faded in the final set against Malisse, who now faces America’s Sam Querrey — a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) winner over Marcel Granollers — while the unpredictable Cilic never got going against Llodra.
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