Murray sends a message to the favorites in Australia by beating Berrettini
The Brit probably recorded the best performance in the first Grand Slam tournament of the season by defeating the powerful Matteo Berrettini in five sets.
The first round of the Australian Open left tennis fans with a reminiscence of the Big Four.
With Roger Federer’s retirement, most of the attention has been focused on Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, but Andy Murray, 35, proved he still has the skills that placed him among those three tennis greats.
Murray, who announced he would retire from the sport back in 2019 after hip surgery, turned the clock back to beat 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in a spectacular five-setter game.
To make it even more epic, the three-major winner saved a match point to emerge victorious 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (10/6) in 4 hours 49 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
“Right now I’m unbelievably happy and proud of myself,” said Murray, who will face either Fabio Fognini or Thanasi Kokkinakis next.
More than just a win
Murray became only the fifth man in the Open era with 50 match wins at the Australian Open, joining Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Stefan Edberg.
His victory over the Italian was also his first success over a top-20 opponent at a Grand Slam tournament since 2017, when he defeated Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
While Novak Djokovic is the clear favorite to win his 10th Australian Open and players like Daniil Medvedev, Rafa Nadal, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, or Stefanos Tsitsipas seem to be the ones with the most chances of challenging the Serb, Murray’s win could be seen as a warning to take into consideration as the rounds advance.