“This is the court I thought I’d potentially played my last match” Andy Murray wins a 5-setter thriller against Nikoloz Basilashvili, advances to round 2 of the Australian Open 2022


“This is the court I thought I’d potentially played my last match” Andy Murray wins a 5-setter thriller against Nikoloz Basilashvili, advances to round 2 of the Australian Open 2022

Andy Murray

Wildcard entrant Andy Murray and 21st seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili played out a thriller on the John Cain Arena as the match was decided in the final set. Murray won the tie 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4 after a long 3-hour and 52-minute battle. This is Murray’s third win over the Georgian and a big stride towards improving his rank which is currently 113th in the world.

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It was a complete see-saw match with both the players sharing two sets each in the first four sets. While Murray seemed to close the match in the 4th set, Nikoloz hit back strongly to clinch the tie-breaker and force the 5th set where he eventually dropped his weapons as Murray closed the match after conceding 2 match points and winning his 3rd.

Basilashvili was 0-3 down in the fifth set but tried clawing his way back into the match and made the score 4-4. In a battle of aces with both players reaching the double-digit mark in aces, it was Murray’s discipline that turned out to be the difference between the two players.

“It’s been a tough three or four years, a lot of work to get back here. I’ve played on this court many times – the atmosphere is incredible, I’ve always had fantastic support. This is the court I thought I’d potentially played my last match on three years ago, amazing to be back winning a five-set battle like that. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

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“It was a brutal match in Sydney. We played for 3 hours over 3 sets. I’m sure you guys can tell from watching that he hits the ball huge from the back of the court and hence I had to do a lot of running and defending today. He’s not the sort of guy you want to see next to your name in the draw too often. But obviously, a little bit of confidence from the win last week and thankfully managed to win today,” said Murray in his on-court interview.

Next up, Taro Daniel for Andy Murray

Andy Murray
Andy Murray

“Last year when we came back to okay after the enforced break with COVID, we played with no fans in the stadium and it was tough. It’s not loads of fun. We train and practice to allow us to compete on courts and atmosphere like this to allow us to entertain you guys and perform in front of you. So it’s great to be back and thanks for creating such an atmosphere.

“Hopefully keep improving! I think there are things in my game that I can do better and I’d love to have a deep run here if possible. I’d like to have a deep run- it’s something I haven’t had since I came back from injury and I have played some of my best tennis over the years here and I hope I can go deep in this tournament,” added Murray further in his on-court interview.

After the sensational win, Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel will be the round 2 opponent for Andy Murray. Daniel defeated fellow qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera 7-6(7), 6-1, 6-1 to advance into the second round of the Slam.

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As for Nikoloz, a two-week break will help plan out the upcoming Tour where a turnaround will be expected before the next Grand Slam in the form of the 2022 French Open that is 4 months away from now. With a mixture of hardcourt and clay tournaments to begin after the Slam in Melbourne, the schedule for the upcoming tournaments is expected shortly.

Also Read: Daniil Medvedev talks of Rafael Nadal’s chances of winning the 2022 Australian Open