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How Andy Murray did to say goodbye four years ago in Australia and start shining in 2023

2023-01-17T17:40:55.293Z


He played an epic match against Berrettini and showed that hip problems are a thing of the past. "I have surprised myself, really," he said of his high level.


The second day of the

Australian Open 2023

will be remembered for the chaotic development of the matches, suspended, first, for almost three hours due to sweltering heat that forced the application

of the Extreme Heat Policy

and, later, due to the rain, which ended up generating the postponement of several meetings for Wednesday.

But it will also be remembered as the day that

Andy Murray

confirmed, in case there were any doubts, that he is back and that that annoying hip problem, which had led him to tearfully announce his retirement four years ago, in this same tournament It's definitely a thing of the past.

And he confirmed it in a big way: with an epic five-set victory against

Matteo Berrettini

, 14th in the world and one of the toughest rivals on the circuit.

Under the roof of the

Rod Laver Arena

, the Scotsman, 35 years old and located today in the 66th step of the classification, won

6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7-9) and 7-6 (10-6)

against the Italian, nine years younger, in a duel that lasted

four hours and 49 minutes

and in which he faced a match point against in the fifth set.

It was his 50th career Grand Slam victory in the ocean and

his first against a top 20 at a "major" in almost six years

.

The last time that the British had beaten a player located in that group in a tournament of this category had been in the quarterfinals of

Roland Garros

2017, when he also beat the Japanese

Kei Nishikori

in five sets , then number nine in the world.

"I'm going to feel the effort later and tomorrow, but now I'm incredibly happy and very proud of myself. I've worked a lot in the last few months with my team to have the opportunity to play in stadiums and matches like this and against players like Matteo. And this victory is the reward," said the five-time finalist in Melbourne (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016).

Murray and Berrettini played a great game and pushed themselves to the limit

.

The Scotsman took the first two sets with relative comfort and a sample of that tennis that made him earn a place among the greatest in history (almost on par with the legendary

Big 3

).

The Italian reacted with a very aggressive game (he hit 31 aces and 72 winners), he took the next two and in the fifth, when he was serving at 5-4 and 40-30, he wasted a match point in an incredible way: with his rival surrendered, he hit a very bad backhand and crashed the ball into the net.

And in the super tie break, the former number one did not forgive: he went ahead 5-0 and ended up sealing the victory with a good margin.

"In the last few years I questioned myself. A lot of people criticized my ability to keep performing in big tournaments and in big matches, so I'm very proud of what I did in this match. And it's not something I felt to over the years after a match. But I struggled a lot at the end of the match and how I played the final tiebreak," said Murray, the

2012

US Open

and 2013 and 2016

Wimbledon champion.

"I have surprised myself, the truth," he added, laughing.

"I usually tend to be hard on myself, but I have to give myself credit because the last few years have been very hard. I had just lost matches like this in the last Slams, like

Tsitsipas

(NdR: US Open 2021) or

Isner

(Wimbledon 2022 ). Today I deserved the victory."

Those hard years, to which the Glasgow-born referred, were the consequence of right hip problems, which began in 2017, forced him to undergo surgery for the first time in 2018 (the year in which he fell out of the top 800) and led him to seriously consider hanging up the racket early the following year, when pain was barely allowing him to walk.

The sadness on Murray's face at Australia 2019 as he thought about retirement Photo AAP Image/Daniel Pockett/via REUTERS

"I have been suffering for a long time, a total of twenty months. I tried to do everything possible but the pain did not stop. I do not want to continue playing in this way. I would like to say goodbye at Wimbledon, but I don't know if I will make it," he told the broken voice hours before his debut in Australia 2019.

Days later he was eliminated in the first round, losing to Roberto Bautista Agut, and admitted, visibly hurt and emotional, that perhaps this had been his last tournament.

But the affection that he received from the entire world of tennis -public and rivals, included- and his love for this sport motivated him to fight one more battle.

The long road to be again


Three weeks after that defeat in Melbourne he underwent further surgery to replace the damaged hip with a metal one.

And when he realized how good his new hip felt, he began to dream big again.

Murray and the title in Antwerp 2019, the only one he has won, so far, since his return.

Photo AP Photo/Francisco Seco

Just five months after that second surgery, he lifted a trophy again.

It was in doubles, a less physically demanding discipline, but it was a victory that still gave him a huge confidence boost.

"I just won a title with a metal hip. It's crazy! It's great to have achieved it, especially thinking about where I was a few months ago. It's special, perhaps more than many of the singles titles I've won," he later acknowledged. to consecrate himself with

Feliciano López

in

Queen's

.

That was the kickoff on his way back.

In October of that same year, he shouted champion in

Antwerp

and lifted a singles trophy for the first time since 2017. After an atypical 2020 and little activity and a 2021 in which he came to play some challengers, to continue adding points and recovering rankings , in 2022 he played finals again:

Sydney

(lost to Karatsev) and

Stuttgart

(to Berrettini).

In the German tournament, moreover, he got

his first victory against a top 5 after four years

: he beat

Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th) in the quarterfinals.

However, a great performance in a Grand Slam was due, to confirm that he was back in physical and tennis shape to fight for the big titles.

He had reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2021 and at the same time at the US Open last year (he also lost to Berrettini).

But, as he confessed this Tuesday, he felt that he had not played again -and won- a great game, one of those that make spectators delirious, in this category.

Before the Italian, he got rid of the desire to do it.

The victory was not a coincidence.

The Olympic champion of

London 2012

and

Rio 2016

worked hard to achieve it.

"I've been training really hard in Florida to get ready for this tournament. I spent three weeks in Boca Raton with physio

Phil Hayward

and

Ivan (Lendl)

. We did a lot of work on the court, but also on the bike and the vertical climber. I repeated the same routine every day. I was 100 percent focused on my training and tennis. I have spent a lot of time improving my game and my physique," he said. 

Murray's celebration after Australia's 2023 debut win over Berrettini.

Photo REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Even Berrettini, who came as one of the candidates to advance a lot in the box, acknowledged: "It is incredible what Andy is capable of after so many operations and after all the kilometers he has covered in his life. It is impressive. It shows what who loves the game and this type of encounter".

The Scotsman - who is waiting for

Thanasi Kokkinakis

or

Fabio Fognini

(game postponed to Wednesday) - not only celebrated an important victory.

He also became the fifth player to reach 50 wins at the Oceanic Major, after Federer (102), Djokovic (83), Nadal (77) and Stefan Edberg (56).

And he made it clear that the retirement - that which seemed a fact four years ago - will have to wait.

Talented like few others -not for nothing was he the only one who managed to break the reign of the Big 3 in the golden age of those three extraordinary players-, with an impressive mental strength and a passion for tennis that does not expire, Andy is back and aims so high.

Tireless.

Eternal.

look too

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Australian Open: Russian and Belarusian flags are banned due to a Ukrainian protest

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2023-01-17

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