Nick Kyrgios Pulls Out Of Australian Open With Knee Injury
Andy Murray rolled back the years with an epic five-set win over Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open.
Bidding to beat a top-20 player at a grand slam for the first time since his hip problems began in 2017, Murray won the opening two sets before Berrettini fought back to level in a dramatic fourth-set tie-break.
The Italian 13th seed created a match point in the 10th game of the deciding set but dumped a simple backhand into the net with the court wide open and Murray held on to force a deciding tie-break.
A gruelling first point won by the Scot set the tone and Murray, who moved superbly, was able to celebrate a stunning 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7) 7-6 (6) victory after four hours and 49 minutes.
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Australian Open 2023: Berrettini 3-6 3-6 6-4 7-6 6-7 Murray – GAME, SET AND MATCH
Here is the man himself: “I’ll be feeling this this evening and tomorrow but now I’m just unbelievably happy, just so proud of myself. I’ve put a lot of work into the last few months with my team, who have given me the opportunity to perform like this here against players like Matteo, it paid off tonight.
“That’s the first time I’ve played a match tiebreaker, first to 10, and it’s a bit different. It feels like you are still far away. He came away strong and I was lucky at the end. But it felt like the tennis at the end was really good. He was serving unbelievable and he’s a brilliant competitor – one of the best – he always fights to the end.”
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Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 08:12
Australian Open 2023
We’re heading into a decider at Rod Laver as Tamara Zidansek breaks Ons Jabeur to take the second set 6-4 and level the match. Jabeur is struggling.
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Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 10:48
Australian Open 2023
Further reaction from Andy Murray: “I think the last few years, I’ve certainly questioned myself at times. There’s certainly a lot of people questioned me and my ability, whether I could still perform at the biggest events and the biggest matches.
“I felt very proud of myself after the match. That’s not something that I generally felt over the years at the end of the tennis matches. But I think I’m proud of the work that I put in the last few months. I trained really, really hard over in Florida getting ready to play here.
“I’m really proud of how I fought through that match at the end when it could have got away from me, how I played in the tiebreak at the end.
“Yeah, I was impressed with myself, which again is not something… I’m hard on myself usually.
“Tonight I need to give myself some credit because the last few years have been tough. I’ve lost a few of those matches, those type of matches, in the slams the last couple years, whether that’s the Tsitsipas match or Isner at Wimbledon. That one could have gone the other way tonight, but I stayed strong and I deserved to win.”
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Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 10:18
Australian Open 2023
Ons Jabeur takes the opening set of her first-round match Tamara Zidansek on a tiebreak 10-8. This has been much closer than expected, with Jabeur still yet to find her range and Zidansek responding to the challenge to break back midway through the first set. It’s been a good battle on Rod Laver.
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Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 10:08
Australian Open 2023
Alexander Zverev survived a scare against lucky loser Juan Pablo Varillas to prevail 4-6 6-1 5-7 7-6(3) 6-4 in over four hours, earning his first Grand Slam win since he was forced to retire in the French Open semi-final against Rafa Nadal.
Danish teenager Holger Rune, the ninth seed, breezed through with a 6-2 6-3 6-4 win over Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic.
Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 09:51
Australian Open 2023
Fourth seed Caroline Garcia cruised into the second round with a 6-3 6-0 win over Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Elise Mertens fought back from a set down to hold off 2020 finalist and former world number one Garbine Muguruza 3-6 7-6(3) 6-1.
Home favourite Kimberly Birrell, who was granted a main-draw spot after Venus Williams pulled out, produced a stunning comeback to beat 31st seed Kaia Kanepi 3-6 7-6(4) 6-1.
Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 09:28
Australian Open 2023
Eighth seed Taylor Fritz fired 32 aces in his 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili to move into the second round and the American’s next big challenge is persuading his girlfriend to let him to play video games.
“I’m gonna get lots of hours of recovery after the match, make sure I’m feeling good, maybe get some dinner and possibly play some video games if my girlfriend lets me,” Fritz said.
Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 09:10
Australian Open 2023: Rain in Melbourne
After the intense heat of the afternoon, it’s now raining in Melbourne and it looks as if there will be no further play on the outdoor courts today.
Up next on Rod Laver Arena, world No 2 Ons Jabeur faces Tamara Zidansek, before Novak Djokovic takes on Roberto Carballes Baena in his Australian Open return.
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Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 09:01
Australian Open 2023: Murray defeats Berrettini in five-set epic
Tim Henman hits the nail on the head here:
“I think it’s almost like two different careers. Because of the nature of the operation it’s not like he’s had a knee surgery or an elbow surgery, he’s got a metal hip. With the time he has been away, it’s taken time to adjust to that. His movement was pretty ordinary to begin with but it getting better and better.
“For me the level of tennis he was playing last year was disappointing. I don’t think he was playing well and I thought that would be the easy bit to get back. Now you are seeing a performance of his movement, his stamina, his endurance, and his quality of tennis, and it came together. And that is incredible to watch.”
Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 08:43
Australian Open 2023: Murray defeats Berrettini in five-set epic
More from Murray: “I stayed remarkably calm at the end. I made a really good start in the tiebreak and put a few returns in play, tried to take the intiative in the rallies. I think I served smart in the match. He hit a bad shot on match point – I was lucky there for sure. It was incredibly close throughout the match.”
Henman asks Murray if its wise to be diving with metal hip on a hard court. “I’ll find out tonight whether that was the right move! But I was so close to the finish line there. It feels fine just now.”
Jamie Braidwood17 January 2023 08:37
Kaynak: briturkish.com