5/18/2023 0 Comments Andy murraySo it was back to singles again, and by August 2020 he was back in the US Open first-round draw. Singles? Perhaps too much - so it was doubles first. So he returned to training and the hip held up. Then he saw that old, mangy tennis ball in his house and took a racket to it. He had a foot and a beaten body already a step through the door of retirement.Īs he took time away to have hip resurfacing surgery, his first goal was to be pain-free enough to walk up the stairs. They played the retirement montage at John Cain Arena after his first-round defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut at that year's Australian Open. Murray could've called it a day back in 2019. Andy Murray reacts after a point during a marathon five-set match in which he ousted Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis. He was playing a day ahead of the UK, but his mind has always been a step in front of the rest of us. But above all, there were the familiar emotions prompted by his fortitude: something along the lines of pride and admiration. The experience of watching him claw his way back from two sets down thousands of miles away against someone nine years his junior blurred nostalgia, hope and the thrill of the pleasant spectacle. I know it will at some stage but while it’s going like this, might as well enjoy it.Thursday afternoon in the UK was another occasion when we were gripped by Murray once again as he played his marathon five-set match against Thanasi Kokkinakis in Melbourne. “I’ve managed to fight through some brutal matches. I really want to make the most of these last years that I’ve got,” the 35-year-old said after his latest win. It’s no surprise that Murray “doesn’t want it” to stop. * He saved five match points saved against Jiri Lehecka in the semi-final in Qatar * The three-time Grand Slam winner saved three match points against Lorenzo Sonego in Qatar * Murray came from two sets down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis at Melbourne Park in what was the longest match of his career. * He saved a match point en route to a five-set win over 13th seed Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open. Other incredible statistics from Andy Murray’s remarkable marathon encounters in 2023 Murray has already spent 31 hours and three minutes on court so far this year and on only two occasions (against Korda and Medvedev) did his match not go beyond two hours.īreakdown of Andy Murray’s 31 hours on court in 2023 The three matches that didn’t go the distance were against Sebastian Korda in the first round of the Adelaide International, his third-round clash against Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round at Australia – although that one took four sets to settle – and the final of the Qatar Open against Daniil Medvedev. His clash against the world No 61 was his 10th match of the year and seven of those encounters have gone to a deciding set, and remarkably he has won all seven of them.īut when you can pull off points like this when you are really up against, is it really a surprise? Not for the first time in 2023 – and probably not for the last – Murray was involved in a match that went the distance as he defeated the Argentine 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4 in just over three hours in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 event in California. Andy Murray pulled off another deciding-set victory on Thursday as he came from a set down to defeat Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Indian Wells, but it is just one in a long list of incredible wins from the marathon man so far this year.
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