Oh man. This one's totally on you, Vik.
I mean, that was so epic a meltdown it almost got Muzz to smile.
Andy has a liquid ankle. They scanned it, the scans revealed a partial tendon tear, and he was given crutches. It crunches when he walks. He said he had more pills in him than Ozzy Osbourne. And Vik was up 5-2 on him in their one-set shootout today.
Vik lost 7-5. That's right, after getting to 5-2, Vik lost five straight games. If you don't want to use the word "choke" then let's put it this way: Vik went dumb when victory was in his grasp. He had spent seven games playing a patient, opportunistic, smart game and then he threw the plot into the Seine and hopped on a train to London. It was very very hard to watch.
Oh, and the ballkid had nothing to do with anything. Yes, the kid jumped the gun. But he was standing on the side of the umpire's chair where he couldn't see the end of the point. All he saw was Vik hitting an overhead smash and the crowd whooping and hollering. He ran out. It was a mistake for sure. But Vik went on to break in that game, consolidate the break at 5-2, and served for the match at 5-3. Leave the ballkid out of this.
So it'll be Andy vs. Chela tomorrow for a spot in the semis. I can't think this will be anything but a grinder of a match, so here's hoping Andy's bionic ankle comes out warm. I just want him to make the semis. Is that so bad?
(Pics: Getty, AP)
