Andy Murray win another long and enduring match against Matteo Berrettini. The Italian looked weary and leaned on his racket to keep his balance. Murray took a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on Wednesday at the Miami Open.
Berrettini was playing his first match on the ATP Tour this season as he served with Murray leading 5-2 in the second set. But then he appeared to become dizzy, resting his racket on the court to hold himself up. A medical attendant checked on him and assessed his blood pressure before play resumed.
Berrettini left the court after losing the set but managed to complete the match, which lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes.
This was a rematch of the 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10-6) victory by Murray which extended over more than 4 1/2 hours during the first round of the 2023 Australian Open.
Resilient Murray Wins 30th Miami Open Victory
“It was obviously a great win for me,” Murray said. “Started off a little bit slow but then I did think I played pretty well across the end of the first set through to the end of the match. Created a lot of opportunities and he was struggling for a little bit at the end of the second and beginning of the third, and I capitalized on that and got off to a quick start in the third and served it out well at the end.”
Berrettini, the Italian hadn’t played a match on tour since being forced to retire during his match in the second round of last year’s U.S. Open. Last week, the runner-up of the 2021 Wimbledon tournament made a comeback and advanced to the final of a Challenger tour event in Phoenix.
“I played a poor game, missed a pretty regulation volley on the first point and then an easy forehand on one of the points as well,” said Murray having picked up his 30th career Miami Open win.
“Came up with good serves and played solid tennis. Played smart, put the ball in the position on the court where he wasn’t able to dictate and attack so much. He at times maybe got slightly impatient and I wasn’t. I was comfortable in the rallies and did well to stay tough in those moments.”
At 36 years old, Murray, has won the title twice in Miami, joining joined Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only active players boasting 30 wins at the event. The three-time Grand Slam champion progressed to face Tomas Etcheverry, No. 29 seed in the second round.