“It’s fantastic to be back.” Double Olympic champion Andy Murray was visibly moved after defeating number 21 seeded Nikolos Basilashvili (Geo) after 3:52 hours in the first round of the Australian Open 6:1, 3:6, 6:4, 6:7 ( 5) and 6:4. Memories of 2019 came alive. At that time, the Scottish tennis star announced the end of his career in tears in Melbourne because of persistent hip problems.
That was hasty. The 34-year-old is now experiencing his second spring, an implanted metal hip not only freed Murray from pain, it also gave him back his ease on the court. The British media went overboard with superlatives and wrote of one of the greatest comebacks in national sporting history.
“Murry dances back into the game,” wrote the “Telegraph” about the exceptional athlete who advanced to the final at the ATP 250 tournament in Sydney last week. There he was defeated by the Russian Aslan Karazew 3:6, 3:6.
Now the stage is bigger. Murray loves playing in Melbourne. He has been in the final five times here, but has failed to win a title. He had to wait five long years to win a match here. This time it worked.
“I fought and kept my nerve. It feels incredibly good,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion, who missed the Australian Open last year due to a corona disease. This year “Sir Andy” was awarded a well-deserved wild card, and he is currently only 113th in the world rankings. But the arrow is clearly pointing upwards.
The second round hurdle can also be jumped over: Tomorrow Murray meets the Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel.
Relief at Raducanu
Emma Raducanu felt a load off her heart at her first Grand Slam event after her sensational triumph at the US Open 2021. Most recently, the 18-year-old Englishwoman, who had (unsuccessfully) served at the Upper Austria Ladies in Linz, did not go as she wished, yesterday the world number 18 reported. with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 win over American Sloane Stephens.
Source: Nachrichten
