Andy Murray’s comeback! Tras multiple operations and a long desert crossing, the Scotsman seems to recover part of the tennis that one day made him the best player on the planet in the midst of the ‘Big Three’ era.
Today he demonstrated it at the John Cain Arena with a prestigious victory against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, then number 23 in the ATP ranking, which has allowed him to advance to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2017.
Then Murray, a finalist in Melbourne up to five times, lost to the German Misha Zverev, older brother of Alexander, in the round of 16. Since then he only played the 2019 edition, falling in the first round against Robert Baptist in five sleeves.
Now, at 34 years old, he is recovering sensations at a forced march and is capable of competing with rivals of the stature of Basilashvili, whom he had already defeated last week in the Sydney tournament, in which the British tennis player reached the final.
The match, which lasted almost four hours, ended up falling on the Scot’s side for 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(5) and 6-4 to the delight of a devoted public from the first minute.
Going for his victory 50
Murray, who is still ranked 113th in the ATP, was more consistent on serve than his rival and barely committed a double fault for seven from Basilashvili, who entrusted his fortune to his greatest punch. As a test, his 69 winners and his 99 unforced errors -among them, the ball to the net that finally decided the duel-.
The next rival of the winner of three ‘majors’ -two Wimbledon and one US Open- will be the Japanese Taro Daniel, against whom Murray will seek his 50th victory in the first major of the season.
It’s incredible, it’s been four very complicated years. I have played very good games here. Three years ago I played what was going to be my last game
At the moment, he is already the fifth player with the most wins in the tournament in the Open Era, only surpassed by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Stefan Edberg.
“It’s incredible, it’s been four very complicated years. I’ve played very good games here. Three years ago I played what was going to be my last game,” he commented, referring to that game against Bautista, on the same stage, before announce a withdrawal that he finally canceled after undergoing an operation to solve your hip problems.
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