Berrettini australian open 20232/12/2024 ![]() “I know how I am feeling today compared to when I went into the match at the US Open and I am playing better,” said Murray, who fell to Berrettini in four sets in New York. Juan Pablo Varillas vs.Five-time finalist Andy Murray, hunting for his second win at Melbourne Park in five years, likes his chances against the 13th-seeded Italian.Melbourne (Grand Slam), other first-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 24.297.942, most recent results first): I have to say Andy just handled the situation better.” I was ready for different kind of conditions. “Obviously was a little bit different from what I expected it,” he said. The roof was closed due to the tournament’s extreme heat policy, and Berrettini did not respond well. In his post-match press conference Berrettini talked about the difficulty of playing the match under a roof in Rod Laver Arena, after warming up and planning to play outdoors in the heat. The momentum changed after that, it felt to me like he was serving unbelievable, like really accurate as well and close the lines, and I’d made a couple of little tweaks right at the end of the fifth set, maybe I could have done that sooner, to get more returns back in play but yeah, he he did play extremely well the last last three sets.” Berrettini – Andy just handled the situation better “I had a couple of breakpoints early in the third set,” Murray later said. Berrettini would close to 8-6 but he would not get closer. Murray pushed into the super tiebreak (first player to 10 points) and then stretched out to a 5-0 lead. There was suddenly new life for Murray, and it was an opportunity he would not waste. *Anything* over the net, and he is into the second round. THIS is how excruciatingly close Berrettini came to winning the match. A golden opportunity to cap off a dramatic victory had suddenly gone begging. It is a shot that Berrettini will likely remember for the rest of his career. Not so fast! He missed an easy backhand with half of the court wide open, his shot sagging into the net. ![]() The Italian had a 7-1 record in five sets, compared to 26-13 for Murray, at the start of the fifth.Īn hour later, with Berrettini holding match point with Murray serving at 4-5 30-40, it looked like the 26-year-old was set to finish his comeback. In the fourth set Berrettini converted his third set point in the tiebreak to bring it to a decider. Berrettini’s match point – a terrible miss ![]() Murray had chances to close out the match earlier but Berrettini held his nerve, breaking for 3-2 in the third set and holding the rest of the way to turn the pressure up. He always fights right til the end, so I did well to get through.” “He was serving unbelievable, and he’s a brilliant competitor, he is one of the best competitors on the tour. “I think some of the tennis at the end was really good – it felt like that playing, I don’t know what it looked like,” he said to the crowd. Murray said he could feel the difference. But in the third set, Berrettini’s forehand started to hit with more zing, he raised the pace of his shots and began to control things physically. It was the Scot calling all the shots as he moved Berrettini around the chess board, probing with his variety and taking the Italian out of his comfort zone. ![]() Murray dominated the opening two sets, as Berrettini struggled to settle into the match. He always fights right til the end, so I did well to get through.” - Andy Murray, on his win over Matteo Berrettini There was drama, and also high quality “I’ve put a lot of work into the last few months with my team, who are here, to give me the opportunity to perform on stadiums like this and in matches against players like Matteo and it paid off tonight.” “But right now I’m just unbelievably happy, very proud of myself. “I’ll be feeling this this evening and tomorrow,” Murray said. Murray notches his first top-20 win at the Grand Slams since 2017, and he will face either Fabio Fognini or Thanasi Kokkinakis next.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |