Andy Murray
On Wednesday, Andy Murray achieved a milestone at the Miami Open presented by Itau by securing his 30th match win at the ATP Masters 1000 event, making him the third active player to reach this accomplishment as he progressed to the second round.
The 36-year-old rallied past an ailing Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a two-hour, 48-minute battle inside Hard Rock Stadium. Murray produced superb court coverage and held the advantage in lengthy baseline rallies, committing just 20 unforced errors to his opponent’s 44, to earn his fourth consecutive first-round win.
“It was obviously a great win for me,” said Murray, who wrote, ‘Life in the old dog yet :)’ on the camera lens. “I started off a little bit slow, but I do think I played pretty well from the middle of the first set until the end of the match. I created a lot of opportunities and he was struggling for a little bit at the end of the second and beginning of the third. I capitalised on that and got off to a quick start in the third. I served it out well in the end.”
Berrettini, who was playing his first tour-level tournament since the US Open, did not appear to be at his physical best as the match wore on. Trailing 2-5 in the second set, Berrettini was in between his first and second serve during the opening point when he leaned over on his racquet to keep from falling. The Italian complained of being dizzy and called for the doctor, who took his blood pressure.
Play resumed after a four-minute pause and Murray forced a decider in the ensuing game. He then broke Berrettini’s in a 13-minute opening game of the third set. The Scot dropped just 10 points behind his first delivery in the second and third sets to level his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Berrettini at 3-3.
“As soon as he went to slice, I was able to dictate the points with my forehand,” said Murray, who won two of his 11 break points. “I used the width of the court well and came forward when I had the opportunity.
“When you are playing against big servers, the matches can be quite tight and it’s not always easy to play the break points really aggressive. You don’t know how many opportunities you are going to get. Once I got the break, I felt like I was able to free up a little bit and take a few more chances.”
Next up for Murray is Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who beat him in straight sets at the Australian Open. The Argentine has won two of their three encounters.
A two-time Miami champion (2009, 2013), Murray joins Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the 30 wins club in Miami. The Serbian boasts 44 wins in south Florida, where Nadal has 40.
Berrettini, 27, arrived in Miami off the back of a finalist finish at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Phoenix, where he was playing his first event following a six-month injury layoff.
