Tennis-Munar burns 10 matchpoints but advances at Wimbledon
LONDON (Reuters) -Jaume Munar would have found it almost impossible to forgive himself if he had not reached the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday after the unseeded Spaniard wasted 10 matchpoints before finally seeing off Fabian Marozsan.
The 28-year-old, who toppled tournament dark horse Alexander Bublik in the opening round, beat Hungarian Marozsan 6-2 6-3 7-6(9) after a dramatic third set where things threatened to spiral out of his control when victory was in his grasp.
Munar first wasted two consecutive matchpoints at 5-2 and then three on serve in the next game, before being dragged into a tiebreak where four more opportunities to close out the match came and went before he finally prevailed on his 11th attempt.
"It was unbelievable the way I had to manage the end of the match," Munar, who moved into the third round of a major for the first time, told the ATP website.
"I was playing quite good tennis and was on top for 90% of the match, then I started to struggle a bit. But it is what it is, when you're fighting for these things and trying to make steps forward, it's always a challenge.
"I was expecting difficult moments but I'm happy to have a chance."
Munar's reward for surviving the late wobble is a meeting with 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic after the veteran Croatian saw off British hope Jack Draper.
"I was trying to be calm and think point by point," Munar added of his mindset during the nervy finish to his match.
"It's never easy but I had the mentality that even if I lose the third set, I was going to have a chance.
"I was feeling that I was the better player on court today."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; editing by Clare Fallon)
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