Andy Murray showed it to everyone again: The British tennis veteran defeated the Italian Matteo Berrettini in just under five hours and delivered a real drama.
What a tennis drama. Andy Murray has reached the second round of the Australian Open in a thrilling opening duel against former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. After a highly entertaining and exciting 4:49 hours, the three-time Grand Slam winner defeated the number 13 seeded Italian with 6: 3, 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 7 (7: 9) and 7: 6 (10:6) through. The best tennis was offered to the enthusiastic spectators in the Rod Laver Arena.
“I’m incredibly happy and proud of myself,” said a weary Murray in an on-court interview to thunderous applause from fans at Rod Laver Arena.
In the fourth set, Berrettini already had match point, but the favorite hit a simple backhand from the T-field into the net. Murray, who also hurt his knee during the match and was bleeding both there and from his lip, struggled visibly suffering into the tie-break of the fifth set – and there he literally had luck on his side. With his match point, the ball touched the edge of the net and fell on Berrettini’s half, who was no longer able to reach the felt ball.
“I’ve put a lot of work into playing matches like this over the past few months. It’s paying off now,” said 35-year-old Murray, who has been playing on the tour with an artificial hip since 2019. The five-time Melbourne finalist and former world number one had already declared his career over. He later revised his resignation. Lucky for all tennis fans.
Murray’s opponent in round two will be determined between Thanasi Kokkinakis (Australia) and Fabio Fognini (Italy).
